BANCROFT 
LIBRARY 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


A   SERMON 


MEXICAN   W  A  R 


PREACHED  AT  THE  MELODEON,  ON  SUNDAY,  JUNE  25xn,  1843, 


BY    THEODORE   PARKER, 


MINISTER  OP  THE  XXVIII.   CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH  IN   BOSTOX. 


PUBLISHED      BY      REQUEST. 


BOSTON: 

COOLIDGE   AND   WILEY,   12   WATER    STUEET. 

1S48. 


A   SERMON 


OF    THE 


MEXICAN   WAR 


PREACHED  AT  THE  MELODEON,  ON  SUNDAY,  JUNE  2&TH,  1848, 


BY   THEODORE   PARKER, 

MINISTER  OF  THE  XXVDI.   CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH  IN   BOSTON. 


PUBLISHED      BY      REQUEST. 


BOSTON: 

COOLIDGE   AND   WILEY,   12    WATER   STREET. 
1848. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1848,  by 

COOL1DGB  &  WILEY, 
In  the  Clerk's  office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


- 


SCRIPTURE   LESSON. 

OLD  TESTAMENT. 

AND  it  came  to  pass  after  these  things,  that  Naboth  the  Jezreelite  had  a 
vineyard,  which  was  in  Jezreel,  hard  by  the  palace  of  Ahab,  king  of  Samaria. 
And  Ahab  spake  unto  Naboth,  saying,  Give  me  thy  vineyard,  that  I  may  have 
it  for  a  garden  of  herbs,  because  it  is  near  unto  my  house ;  and  I  will  give  thee 
for  it  a  better  vineyard  than  it ;  or,  if  it  seem  good  to  thee,  I  will  give  thee  the 
worth  of  it  in  money.  And  Naboth  said  to  Ahab,  The  Lord  forbid  it  me,  that 
I  should  give  the  inheritance  of  my  fathers  unto  thee.  And  Ahab  came  into 
his  house  heavy  and  displeased,  because  of  the  word  which  Naboth  the  Jez 
reelite  had  spoken  to  him ;  for  he  had  said,  I  will  not  give  thee  the  inheritance 
of  my  fathers.  And  he  laid  him  down  upon  his  bed,  and  turned  away  his 
face,  and  would  eat  no  bread.  But  Jezebel  his  wife  came  to  him,  and  said  un 
to  him,  Why  is  thy  spirit  so  sad,  that  thou  eatest  no  bread  ?  And  he  said  unto 
her,  Because  I  spake  unto  Naboth  the  Jezreelite,  and  said  unto  him,  Give  me 
thy  vineyard  for  money ;  or  else,  if  it  please  thee,  I  will  give  thee  another 
vineyard  for  it :  and  he  answered,  I  will  not  give  thee  my  vineyard.  And 
Jezebel  his  wife  said  unto  him,  Dost  thou  now  govern  the  kingdom  of  Israel  ? 
Arise,  and  eat  bread,  and  let  thine  heart  be  merry :  I  will  give  thee  the  vine 
yard  of  Naboth  the  Jezreelite.  So  she  wrote  letters  in  Ahab's  name,  and 
sealed  them  with  his  seal,  and  sent  the  letters  unto  the  elders  and  to  the  nobles 
that  were  in  his  city,  dwelling  with  Naboth.  And  she  wrote  in  the  letters, 
saying,  Proclaim  a  fast,  and  set  Naboth  on  high  among  the  people ;  and  set 
two  men,  sons  of  Belial,  before  him,  to  bear  witness  against  him,  saying,  Thou 
didst  blaspheme  God  and  the  king :  and  then  carry  him  out,  and  stone  him, 
that  he  may  die.  And  the  men  of  his  city,  even  the  elders  and  the  nobles, 
who  were  the  inhabitants  in  his  city,  did  as  Jezebel  had  sent  unto  them,  and  as 
it  was  written  in  the  letters  which  she  had  sent  unto  them,  they  proclaimed  a 
fast,  and  set  Naboth  on  high  among  the  people.  And  there  came  in  two  men, 
children  of  Belial,  and  sat  before  him:  and  the  men  of  Belial  witnessed 
against  him,  even  against  Naboth,  in  the  presence  of  the  people,  saying,  Na 
both  did  blaspheme  God  and  the  king.  Then  they  carried  him  forth  out  of 
the  city,  and  stoned  him  with  stones,  that  he  died.  Then  they  sent  to  Jezebel, 
saying,  Naboth  is  stoned,  and  is  dead.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Jezebel 
heard  that  Naboth  was  stoned,  and  was  dead,  that  Jezebel  said  to  Ahab,  Arise, 
take  possession  of  the  vineyard  of  Naboth  the  Jezreelite,  which  he  refused  to 
give  thee  for  money :  for  Naboth  is  not  alive,  but  dead.  And  it  came  to  pass, 
when  Ahab  heard  that  Naboth  was  dead,  that  Ahab  rose  up  to  go  down  to  the 
vineyard  of  Naboth  the  Jezreelite,  to  take  possession  of  it.  And  the  word  of 
the  Lord  came  to  Elijah  the  Tishbite,  saying,  Arise,  go  down  to  meet  Ahab 
king  of  Israel,  which  is  in  Samaria :  behold,  he  is  in  the  vineyard  of  Naboth, 
whither  he  is  gone  down  to  possess  it.  And  thou  shalt  speak  unto  him,  say 
ing,  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  Hast  thou  killed,  and  also  taken  possession  ? 

—  1  Kings,  xxi.,  1-19. 


NEW  TESTAMENT. 

Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit :  for  theirs  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Blessed 
are  they  that  mourn  :  for  they  shall  be  comforted.  Blessed  are  the  meek :  for 
they  shall  inherit  the  earth.  Blessed  are  they  which  do  hunger  and  thirst  after 
righteousness :  for  they  shall  be  filled.  Blessed  are  the  merciful :  for  they 
shall  obtain  mercy.  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart :  for  they  shall  see  God. 
Blessed  are  the  peacemakers :  for  they  shall  be  called  the  children  of  God. 
Blessed  are  they  which  are  persecuted  for  righteousness'  sake  :  for  theirs  is  the 
kingdom  of  heaven.  Blessed  are  ye,  when  men  shall  revile  you,  and  perse 
cute  you,  and  shall  say  all  manner  of  evil  against  you  falsely,  for  my  sake. 
Rejoice,  and  be  exceeding  glad :  for  great  is  your  reward  in  heaven :  for  so 
persecuted  they  the  prophets  which  were  before  you. — Matthew  v.,  3-12. 


SERMON 


SOON  after  the  commencement  of  the  war 
against  Mexico,  I  said  something  respecting  it  in 
this  place.  But  while  I  was  printing  the  sermon, 
I  was  advised  to  hasten  the  compositors  in  their 
work,  or  the  war  would  be  over  before  the  sermon 
was  out.  The  advice  was  like  a  good  deal  of  the 
counsel  that  is  given  a  man  who  thinks  for  him 
self  and  honestly  speaks  what  he  unavoidably 
thinks.  It  is  now  more  than  two  years  since  the 
war  began  ;  I  have  hoped  to  live  long  enough  to 
see  it  ended,  and  hoped  to  say  a  word  about  it 
when  over.  A  month  ago,  this  day,  the  25th  of 
May,  the  treaty  of  peace,  so  much  talked  of,  was 
ratified  by  the  Mexican  Congress.  A  few  days 
ago,  it  was  officially  announced  by  telegraph  to 
your  collector  in  Boston,  that  the  war  with  Mexico 
was  at  an  end. 

There  are  two  things  about  this  war  quite  re 
markable.  The  first  is,  THE  MANNER  OF  ITS  COM 
MENCEMENT.  It  was  begun  illegally,  without  the 
action  of  the  constitutional  authorities ;  begun  by 
the  command  of  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
who  ordered  the  American  army  into  a  territory 
which  the  Mexicans  claimed  as  their  own.  The 
President  says  "  it  is  ours,"  but  the  Mexicans  also 


claimed  it,  and  were  in  possession  thereof  until 
forcibly  expelled.  This  is  a  plain  case,  and  as  I 
have  elsewhere  treated  at  length  of  this  matter,  I 
will  not  dwell  upon  it  again,  except  to  mention  a 
single  fact  but  recently  divulged.  It  is  well  known 
that  Mr.  Polk  claimed  the  territory  west  of  the 
Nueces  and  east  of  the  Rio  Grande,  as  forming  a 
part  of  Texas,  and  therefore  as  forming  part  of  the 
United  States  after  the  annexation  of  Texas.  He 
contends  that  Mexico  began  the  war  by  attacking 
the  American  army  while  in  that  territory  and  near 
the  Rio  Grande.  But,  from  the  correspondence 
laid  before  the  American  Senate,  in  its  secret  ses 
sion  for  considering  the  treaty,  it  now  appears  that 
on  the  10th  of  November,  1845,  Mr.  Polk  instructed 
Mr.  Slidell  to  offer  a  relinquishment  of  American 
claims  against  Mexico,  amounting  to  $5,000,000  or 
$6,000,000,  for  the  sake  of  having  the  Rio  Grande 
as  the  western  boundary  of  Texas  ;  —  yes,  for  that 
very  territory  which  he  says  was  ours  without  pay 
ing  a  cent.  When  it  was  conquered,  a  military 
government  was  established  there,  as  in  other 
places  in  Mexico. 

The  other  remarkable  thing  about  the  war  is, 
THE  MANNER  OF  ITS  CONCLUSION.  The  treaty  of 
peace  which  has  just  been  ratified  by  the  Mexi 
can  authorities,  and  which  puts  an  end  to  the  war, 
was  negotiated  by  a  man  who  had  no  more  legal 
authority  than  any  one  of  us  has  to  do  it.  Mr. 
Polk  made  the  war,  without  consulting  Congress, 
and  that  body  adopted  the  war  by  a  vote  almost 
unanimous.  Mr.  Nicholas  P.  Trist  made  the  treaty, 
without  consulting  the  President ;  yes,  even  after 
the  President  had  ordered  him  to  return  home. 


As  the  Congress  adopted  Mr.  Folk's  war,  so  Mr. 
Polk  adopted  Mr.  Trist's  treaty,  and  the  war  ille 
gally  begun  is  brought  informally  to  a  close.  Mr. 
Polk  is  now  in  the  President's  chair,  seated  on  the 
throne  of  the  Union,  although  he  made  the  war ; 
and  Mr.  Trist,  it  is  said,  is  under  arrest  for  making 
the  treaty  —  meddling  with  what  was  none  of  his 
business. 

When  the  war  began,  there  was  a  good  deal  of 
talk  about  it  here  ;  talk  against  it.  But,  as  things 
often  go  in  Boston,  it  ended  in  talk.  The  news 
boys  made  money  out  of  the  war.  Political  par 
ties  were  true  to  their  wonted  principles,  or  then: 
wonted  prejudices.  The  friends  of  the  party  in 
power  could  see  no  informality  in  the  beginning 
of  hostilities ;  no  injustice  in  the  war  itself;  not 
even  an  impolicy.  They  were  offended,  if  an  ob 
scure  man  preached  against  it  of  a  Sunday.  The 
political  opponents  of  the  party  in  power  talked 
against  the  war,  as  a  matter  of  course  ;  but,  when 
the  elections  came,  supported  the  men  that  made 
it  with  unusual  alacrity  —  their  deeds  serving  as 
commentary  upon  their  words,  and  making  further 
remark  thereon,  in  this  place,  quite  superfluous. 
Many  men,  —  who,  whatever  other  parts  of  Scrip 
ture  they  may  forget,  never  cease  to  remember 
that  "Money  answereth  all  things,"  —  diligently 
set  themselves  to  make  money  out  of  the  war  and 
the  new  turn  it  gave  to  national  affairs.  Others 
thought  that  "  Glory "  was  a  good  thing,  and  so 
engaged  in  the  war  itself,  hoping  to  return,  in  due 
time,  all  glittering  with  its  honors. 


So  what  with  the  one  political  party  that  really 
praised  the  war,  and  the  other  who  affected  to  op 
pose  it,  and  with  the  commercial  party,  who  looked 
only  for  a  market  —  this  for  Merchandise  and  that 
for  "  Patriotism  "  —  the  friends  of  peace,  who  seri 
ously  and  heartily  opposed  the  war,  were  very  few 
in  number.  True,  the  "sober  second  thought"  of 
the  people  has  somewhat  increased  their  number ; 
but  they  are  still  few,  mostly  obscure  men. 

Now  Peace  has  come,  nobody  talks  much  about 
it ;  the  news-boys  have  scarce  made  a  cent  by  the 
news.  They  fired  cannons,  a  hundred  guns  on 
the  Common,  for  joy  at  the  victory  of  Monterey ; 
at  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  Washington,  New  York, 
men  illuminated  their  houses  in  honor  of  the  bat 
tle  of  Buena  Vista,  I  think  it  was ;  the  Custom 
House  was  officially  illuminated  at  Boston  for  that 
occasion.  But  we  hear  of  no  cannons  to  welcome 
the  peace.  Thus  far,  it  does  not  seem  that  a  sin 
gle  candle  has  been  burnt  in  rejoicing  for  that. 
The  newspapers  are  full  of  talk,  as  usual ;  flags 
are  flying  in  the  streets ;  the  air  is  a  little  noisy 
with  hurrahs,  —  but  it  is  all  talk  about  the  conven 
tions  at  Baltimore  and  Philadelphia ;  hurrahs  for 
Taylor  and  Cass.  Nobody  talks  of  the  peace. 
Flags  enough  flap  in  the  wind,  with  the  names  of 
rival  candidates.  But  nowhere  do  the  Stripes  and 
Stars  bear  PEACE  as  their  motto.  The  peace  now 
secured  is  purchased  with  such  conditions  imposed 
on  Mexico,  that  while  every  one  will  be  glad  of  it, 
no  man,  that  loves  Justice,  can  be  proud  of  it. 
Very  little  is  said  about  the  treaty.  The  distin 
guished  Senator  from  Massachusetts  did  himself 


honor,  it  seems  to  me,  in  voting  against  it  on  the 
ground  that  it  enabled  us  to  plunder  Mexico  of  her 
land.  But  the  treaty  contains  some  things  highly 
honorable  to  the  character  of  the  nation,  of  which 
we  may  well  enough  be  proud,  if  ever  of  any  thing. 
I  refer  to  the  twenty-second  and  twenty-third  arti 
cles,  which  provide  for  arbitration  between  the  na 
tions,  if  future  difficulties  should  occur,  and  to  the 
pains  taken,  in  case  of  actual  hostilities,  for  the  se 
curity  of  all  unarmed  persons,  for  the  protection 
of  private  property,  and  for  the  humane  treatment 
of  all  prisoners  taken  in  war.  These  ideas,  and 
the  language  of  these  articles,  are  copied  from  the 
celebrated  treaty  between  the  United  States  and 
Prussia  —  the  treaty  of  1785.  It  is  scarcely  need 
ful  to  add,  that  they  were  then  introduced  by  that 
great  and  good  man,  Benjamin  Franklin,  one  of 
the  negotiators  of  the  treaty.  They  made  a  new 
epoch  in  diplomacy,  and  introduced  a  principle 
previously  unknown  in  the  Law  of  Nations.  The 
insertion  of  these  articles  in  the  new  treaty  is,  per 
haps,  the  only  thing  connected  with  the  war 
which  an  American  can  look  upon  with  satisfac 
tion.  Yet  this  fact  excites  no  attention. 

Still,  while  so  little  notice  is  taken  of  this  matter, 
in  public  and  private,  it  may  be  worth  while  for  a 
minister,  on  Sunday,  to  say  a  word  about  the 
peace,  and,  now  the  war  is  over,  to  look  back  upon 
it,  to  see  what  it  has  cost,  ui  money  and  in  men, 
and  what  we  have  got  by  it ;  what  its  conse 
quences  have  been,  thus  far,  and  are  likely  to  be 
for  the  future ;  what  new  dangers  and  duties  come 
from  this  cause  interpolated  into  our  nation.  We 


10 


have  been  long  promised  "  indemnity  for  the  past 
and  security  for  the  future  "  :  let  us  see  what  we 
are  to  be  indemnified  for,  and  what  secured 
against.  The  natural  justice  of  the  war  I  will  not 
look  at  now. 

First,  then,  of  the  COST  OF  THE  WAR.  Money  is 
the  first  thing  with  a  good  many  men ;  the  only 
thing  with  some  ;  and  an  important  thing  with  all. 
So,  first  of  all,  let  me  speak  of  the  cost  of  the  war 
IN  DOLLARS.  It  is  a  little  difficult  to  determine  the 
actual  cost  of  the  war,  thus  far  —  even  its  direct 
cost ;  for  the  bills  are  not  all  in  the  hands  of  gov 
ernment  ;  and  then,  as  a  matter  of  political  party- 
craft,  the  government,  of  course,  is  unwilling  to  let 
the  full  cost  become  known  before  the  next  elec 
tion  is  over.  So  it  is  to  be  expected  that  the  gov 
ernment  will  keep  the  facts  from  the  people  as 
long  as  possible.  Most  governments  would  do  the 
same.  But  Truth  has  a  right  of  way  everywhere, 
and  will  recover  it  at  last,  spite  of  the  adverse  pos 
session  of  a  political  party.  The  indirect  cost  of 
the  war  must  be  still  more  difficult  to  come  at,  and 
will  long  remain  a  matter  of  calculation,  in  which 
it  is  impossible  to  reach  certainty.  We  do  not 
know  yet  the  entire  cost  of  the  Florida  war,  or  the 
late  war  with  England ;  the  complete  cost  of  the 
Revolutionary  war  must  forever  be  unknown. 

It  is  natural  for  most  men  to  exaggerate  what 
favors  their  argument ;  but  when  I  cannot  obtain 
the  exact  figures,  I  will  come  a  good  deal  within 
the  probable  amount.  The  military  and  naval  ap 
propriations  for  the  year  ending  in  June,  1847,  were 


11 


$40,865,155.96  ;  for  the  next  year,  $31,377,679.92  ; 
the  sum  asked  for  the  present  year,  till  next  June, 
$42,224,000  ;  making  a  whole  of  $114,466,835.88. 
It  is  true  that  all  this  appropriation  is  not  for  the 
Mexican  war,  but  it  is  also  true  that  this  sum  does 
not  include  all  the  appropriations  for  the  war.  Es 
timating  the  sums  already  paid  by  the  govern 
ment,  the  private  claims  presented  and  to  be  pre 
sented,  the  $15,000,000  to  be  paid  Mexico  as 
purchase  money  for  the  territory  we  take  from 
her,  the  $5,000,000  or  $6,000,000  to  be  paid  our 
own  citizens  for  their  claims  against  her,  —  I  think 
I  am  a  good  deal  within  the  mark  when  I  say  the 
war  will  have  cost  $150,000,000  before  the  soldiers 
are  at  home,  discharged,  and  out  of  the  pay  of  the 
State.  In  this  sum  I  do  not  include  the  bounty- 
lands  to  be  given  to  the  soldiers  and  officers,  nor 
the  pensions  to  be  paid  them,  their  widows  and 
orphans,  for  years  to  come.  I  will  estimate  that  at 
$50,000,000  more,  making  a  whole  of  $200,000,000 
which  has  been  paid  or  must  be.  This  is  the  di 
rect  cost  to  the  federal  government,  and  of  course 
does  not  include  the  sums  paid  by  individual 
States,  or  bestowed  by  private  generosity,  to  feed 
and  clothe  the  volunteers  before  they  were  mus 
tered  into  service.  This  may  seem  extravagant  ;* 
but,  fifty  years  hence,  when  party  spirit  no  longer 
blinds  men's  eyes,  and  when  the  whole  is  a  matter 
of  history,  I  think  it  will  be  thought  moderate,  and 
be  found  a  good  deal  within  the  actual  and  direct 
cost.  Some  of  this  cost  will  appear  as  a  public 
debt.  Statements  recently  made  respecting  it  can 
hardly  be  trusted,  notwithstanding  the  authority  on 


12 


which  they  rest.  Part  of  this  war-debt  is  funded 
already,  part  not  yet  funded.  When  the  outstand 
ing  demands  are  all  settled,  and  the  Treasury 
notes  redeemed,  there  will  probably  be  a  war-debt 
of  not  less  than  $125,000,000.  At  least,  such  is 
the  estimate  of  an  impartial  and  thoroughly  com 
petent  judge.  But,  not  to  exaggerate,  let  us  call  it 
only  $100,000,000. 

It  will,  perhaps,  be  said  —  part  of  this  money, 
all  that  is  paid  in  pensions,  is  a  charity,  and  there 
fore  no  loss.  But  it  is  a  charity  paid  to  men  who, 
except  for  the  war,  would  have  needed  no  such 
aid,  and,  therefore,  a  waste.  Of  the  actual  cost 
of  the  war,  some  three  or  four  millions  have  been 
spent  in  extravagant  prices  for  hiring  or  purchas 
ing  ships,  in  buying  provisions  and  various  things 
needed  by  the  army,  and  supplied  by  political  fa 
vorites  at  exorbitant  rates.  This  is  the  only  portion 
of  the  cost  which  is  not  a  sheer  waste  ;  here  the 
money  has  only  changed  hands ;  nothing  has  been 
destroyed,  except  the  honesty  of  the  parties  con 
cerned  in  such  transactions.  If  a  Farmer  hires 
men  to  help  him  till  the  soil,  the  men  earn 'their 
subsistence  and  their  wages,  and  leave,  besides,  a 
profit  to  their  employer ;  when  the  season  is  over, 
he  has  his  crops  and  his  improvements  as  the  re 
turn  for  their  pay  and  subsistence.  But  for  all 
that  the  Soldier  has  consumed  —  for  his  wages,  his 
clothes,  his  food  and  drink,  the  fighting  tools  he 
has  worn  out,  and  the  ammunition  he  has  expend 
ed  —  there  is  no  available  return  to  show ;  all  that 
is  a  clear  waste.  The  beef  is  eaten  up,  the  cloth 
worn  away,  the  powder  is  burnt,  and  what  is  there 


13 


to  show  for  it  all  ?  Nothing  but  the  "  glory."  You 
sent  out  sound  men,  and  they  come  back,  many 
of  them,  sick  and  maimed ;  some  of  them  are 
slain. 

The  indirect  pecuniary  cost  of  the  war  is  caused, 
first,  by  diverting  some  150,000  men  —  engaged  in 
the  war  directly  or  remotely  —  from  the  works  of 
productive  industry,  to  the  labors  of  war,  which 
produce  nothing ;  and,  secondly,  by  disturbing  the 
regular  business  of  the  country,  first  by  the  with 
drawal  of  men  from  their  natural  work ;  then,  by 
withdrawing  large  quantities  of  money  from  the 
active  capital  of  the  nation ;  and,  finally,  by  the 
general  uncertainty  which  it  causes  all  over  the 
land,  thus  hindering  men  from  undertaking  or 
prosecuting  successfully  their  various  productive 
enterprises.  If  150,000  men  earn,  on  the  average, 
but  $200  apiece,  that  alone  amounts  to  $30,000,000. 
The  withdrawal  of  such  an  amount  of  labor  from 
the  common  industry  of  the  country  must  be  seri 
ously  felt.  At  any  rate,  the  nation  has  earned 
$30,000,000  less  than  it  would  have  done,  if  these 
men  had  kept  about  their  common  work. 

But  the  diversion  of  capital  from  its  natural  and 
pacific  direction  is  a  greater  evil  in  this  case. 
America  is  rich,  but  her  wealth  consists  mainly  in 
land,  in  houses,  cattle,  ships,  and  various  things 
needed  for  human  comfort  and  industry.  In 
money,  we  are  poor.  The  amount  of  money  is 
small  in  proportion  to  the  actual  wealth  of  the  na 
tion,  and  also  in  proportion  to  its  activity,  which  is 
indicated  by  the  business  of  the  nation.  In  actual 
wealth,  the  Free  States  of  America  are  probably 


14 


the  richest  people  in  the  world  ;  but  in  money  we 
are  poorer  than  many  other  nations.  This  is  plain 
enough,  though  perhaps  not  very  well  known,  and 
is  shown  by  the  fact  that  interest,  in  European 
states,  is  from  two  to  four  per  cent,  a  year,  and  in 
America  from  six  to  nine.  The  active  capital  of 
America  is  small.  Now  in  this  war,  a  national 
debt  has  accumulated,  which  probably  is  or  will 
soon  be  $100,000,000,  or  $125,000,000.  Now  all 
this  great  sum  of  money  has,  of  course,  been 
taken  from  the  active  capital  of  the  country,  and 
there  has  been  so  much  less  capital  for  the  use  of 
the  Farmer,  the  Manufacturer,  and  the  Merchant. 
But  for  this  war,  these  150,000  men  and  these 
$100,000,000  would  have  been  devoted  to  produc 
tive  industry ;  and  the  result  would  have  been 
shown  by  the  increase  of  our  annual  earnings,  in 
increased  wealth  and  comfort. 

Then  war  produced  uncertainty,  and  that  dis 
trust  amongst  men.  Therefore  many  were  hin 
dered  from  undertaking  new  works,  and  others 
found  then*  old  enterprises  ruined  at  once.  In  this 
way  there  has  been  a  great  loss,  which  cannot  be 
accurately  estimated.  I  think  no  man,  familiar  with 
American  industry,  would  rate  this  indirect  loss 
lower  than  $100,000,000  ;  some,  perhaps,  at  twice 
as  much ;  but  to  avoid  all  possibility  of  exaggera 
tion,  let  us  call  it  half  the  smallest  of  these  sums, 
or  $50,000,000.  This  makes  a  whole  of  $250,000,- 
000  as  the  complete  pecuniary  cost  of  the  Mexican 
war  —  direct  and  indirect. 

What  have  we  got  to  show  for  all  this  money. 
We  have  a  large  tract  of  territory  —  containing,  in 


15 


all,  both  east  and  west  of  the  Rio  Grande,  I  am 
told,  between  700,000  and  800,000  square  miles. 
Accounts  differ  as  to  its  value.  But  it  appears, 
from  the  recent  correspondence  of  Mr.  Slidell,  that 
in  1845  the  President  offered  Mexico,  in  money, 
$25,000,000  for  that  territory  which  we  now  ac 
quire  under  this  new  treaty.  Suppose  it  is  worth 
more  —  suppose  it  is  worth  twice  as  much,  or  all 
the  indirect  cost  of  the  war  ($50,000,000),  then  the 
$200,000,000  are  thrown  away. 

Now,  for  this  last  sum,  we  could  have  built  a 
sufficient  Rail  Road  across  the  Isthmus  of  Pana 
ma  —  and  another  across  the  continent,  from  the 
Mississippi  to  the  Pacific.  If  such  a  Road,  with 
its  suitable  equipment,  cost  $100,000  a  mile,  and 
the  distance  should  amount  to  2,000  miles,  then 
the  $200,000,000  would  just  pay  the  bills.  That 
would  have  been  the  greatest  national  work  of 
productive  industry  in  the  world.  In  comparison 
with  it  the  Lake  Moeris  and  the  Pyramids  of 
Egypt  and  the  Wall  of  China  seem  but  the  works 
of  a  child.  It  might  be  a  work  to  be  proud  of  till 
the  world  ends;  one,  too,  which  would  advance 
the  industry,  the  welfare,  and  general  civilization 
of  mankind  to  a  great  degree,  —  diminishing,  by 
half,  the  distance  round  the  globe ;  saving  millions 
of  property  and  many  lives  each  year ;  besides 
furnishing,  it  is  thought,  a  handsome  income  from 
the  original  outlay.  But,  perhaps,  that  would  not 
be  the  best  use  which  might  be  made  of  the 
money ;  perhaps  it  would  not  have  been  wise  to 
undertake  that  work.  I  do  not  pretend  to  judge 
of  such  matters,  only  to  show  what  might  be  done 


16 


with  that  sum  of  money,  if  we  were  disposed  to 
national  works  of  such  a  character.  At  any  rate, 
two  Pacific  Rail  Roads  would  be  better  than  one 
Mexican  War.  We  are  seldom  aware  of  the  cost 
of  war.  If  a  single  regiment  of  dragoons  costs 
only  $700,000  a  year  —  which  is  a  good  deal  less 
than  the  actual  cost  —  that  is  considerably  more 
than  twelve  colleges  like  Harvard  University,  with 
its  Schools  for  Theology,  Law,  and  Medicine ; 
its  Scientific  School,  Observatory  and  all.  We 
are,  taken  as  a  whole,  a  very  ignorant  people  ;  and 
while  we  waste  our  School-money  and  School- 
time,  must  continue  so. 

A  great  man,  who  towers  far  above  the  common 
heads,  full  of  creative  thought,  of  the  Ideas  which 
move  the  world,  able  to  organize  that  thought  into 
Institutions,  Laws,  Practical  Works ;  —  a  man  of  a 
million,  a  million-minded  man,  at  the  head  of  a  na 
tion,  putting  his  thought  into  them ;  ruling  not  barely 
by  virtue  of  his  position,  but  by  the  intellectual  and 
moral  power  to  fill  it;  ruling  not  over  men's  heads, 
but  in  their  minds  and  hearts,  and  leading  them  to 
new  fields  of  toil,  increasing  their  numbers,  wealth, 
intelligence,  comfort,  morals,  piety  —  such  a  man 
is  a  noble  sight;  a  Charlemagne,  or  a  Genghis 
Khan,  a  Moses  leading  his  nation  up  from  Egyp 
tian  bondage  to  freedom  and  the  promised  land. 
How  have  the  eyes  of  the  world  been  fixed  on 
Washington !  In  darker  days  than  ours,  when  all 
was  violence,  it  is  easy  to  excuse  such  men  if  they 
were  warriors  also ;  and  made,  for  the  time,  their 
nation  but  a  camp.  There  have  been  ages  when 
the  most  lasting  ink  was  human  blood.  In  our 


17 


day,  when  war  is  the  exception,  and  that  com 
monly  needless  —  such  a  man,  so  getting  the  start 
of  the  majestic  world,  were  a  far  grander  sight. 
And  with  such  a  man  at  the  head  of  this  nation  — 
a  great  man  at  the  head  of  a  free  nation,  able  and 
energetic  and  enterprising  as  we  are  —  what  were 
too  much  to  hope  ?  As  it  is,  we  have  wasted  our 
money,  and  got  —  the  honor  of  fighting  such  a 
war. 

Let  me  next  speak  of  the  direct  cost  of  the  tvar 
IN  MEN.  In  April,  1846,  the  entire  army  of  the 
United  States  consisted  of  7,244  men ;  the  naval 
force  of  about  7,500.  We  presented  the  gratifying 
spectacle  of  a  nation  20,000,000  strong,  with  a 
sea-coast  of  3,000  or  4,000  miles,  and  only  seven 
or  eight  thousand  soldiers,  and  as  many  armed 
men  on  the  sea  —  or  less  than  fifteen  thousand 
in  all !  Few  things  were  more  grateful  to  an 
American  than  this  thought  —  that  his  country 
was  so  nearly  free  from  the  terrible  curse  of  a 
standing  army.  At  that  time,  the  standing  army 
of  France  was  about  480,000  men ;  that  of  Russia 
nearly  800,000,  it  is  said.  Most  of  the  officers  in 
the  American  army  and  navy,  and  most  of  the 
rank  and  file,  had  probably  entered  the  service 
with  no  expectation  of  ever  shedding  the  blood  of 
men.  The  navy  and  army  were  looked  on  as 
instruments  of  Peace  —  as  much  so  as  the  Police 
of  a  city. 

The  first  of  last  January,  there  was,  in  Mexico, 
an  American  army  of  23,695  regular  soldiers,  and 
a  little  more  than  50,000  volunteers  —  the  number 


18 


cannot  now  be  exactly  determined  —  making  an 
army  of  invasion  of  about  75,000  men.  The  na 
val  forces,  also,  had  been  increased  to  10,000.  Es 
timating  all  the  men  engaged  in  the  service  of  the 
army  and  navy ;  in  making  weapons  of  war  and 
ammunition;  in  preparing  food  and  clothing;  in 
transporting  those  things  and  the  soldiers  from 
place  to  place,  by  land  or  sea,  and  in  performing 
the  various  other  works  incident  to  military  opera 
tions,  —  it  is  within  bounds  to  say  that  there  were 
90,000  or  90,000  men  engaged  indirectly  in  the 
works  of  war.  But  not  to  exaggerate,  it  is  safe  to 
say  that  150,000  men  were  directly  or  indirectly 
engaged  in  the  Mexican  war.  This  estimate  will 
seem  moderate  when  you  remember  that  there 
were  about  5,000  teamsters  connected  with  the 
army  in  Mexico. 

Here,  then,  were  150,000  men,  whose  attention 
and  toil  were  diverted  from  the  great  business  of 
productive  industry  to  merely  military  operations, 
or  preparations  for  them.  Of  course,  all  the  labor 
of  these  men  was  of  no  direct  value  to  the  human 
race.  The  food  and  clothing  and  labor  of  a  man 
who  earns  nothing  by  productive  work  of  Hand  or 
Head,  is  food,  clothing,  and  labor  thrown  away — 
labor  in  vain.  There  is  nothing  to  show  for  the 
things  he  has  consumed.  So  all  the  work  spent 
in  preparing  ammunition  and  weapons  of  war  is 
labor  thrown  away,  an  absolute  loss,  as  much  as 
if  it  had  been  spent  in  making  earthen  pitchers 
and  then  in  dashing  them  to  pieces.  A  country  is 
the  richer  for  every  serviceable  plough  and  spade 
made  in  it,  and  the  world  the  richer ;  they  are  to 


be  used  in  productive  work,  and  when  worn  out, 
there  is  the  improved  soil  and  the  crops  that  have 
been  gathered,  to  show  for  the  wear  and  tear  of 
the  tools.  So  a  country  is  the  richer  for  every  in 
dustrious  Shoemaker  and  Blacksmith  it  contains  ; 
for  his  time  and  toil  go  to  increase  the  sum  of  hu 
man  comfort —  creating  actual  wealth.  The  world 
also  is  better  off,  and  becomes  better  through  their 
influence.  But  a  country  is  the  poorer  for  every 
Soldier  it  maintains,  and  the  world  poorer,  as  he 
adds  nothing  to  the  actual  wealth  of  mankind  ;  so 
is  it  the  poorer  for  each  sword  and  cannon  made 
within  its  borders,  and  the  world  poorer,  for  these 
instruments  cannot  be  used  in  any  productive 
work,  only  for  works  of  destruction. 

So  much  for  the  labor  of  these  150,000  men  — 
labor  wasted  in  vain.  Let  us  now  look  at  the  cost 
of  life.  It  is  not  possible  to  ascertain  the  exact 
loss  suffered  up  to  this  time,,  in  killed,  deceased  by 
ordinary  diseases,  and  in  wounded ;  for  some  die 
before  they  are  mustered  into  the  service  of  the 
United  States,  and  parts  of  the  army  are  so  far 
distant  from  the  seat  of  government  that  their  re 
cent  losses  are  still  unknown.  I  rely  for  informa 
tion  on  the  last  report  of  the  Secretary  of  War, 
read  before  the  Senate  April  10th,  1848,  and  re 
cently  printed.  That  gives  the  losses  of  parts  of 
the  army  up  to  December  last ;  other  accounts  are 
made  up  only  till  October,  or  till  August.  Recent 
losses  will  of  course  swell  the  amount  of  destruc 
tion.  According  to  that  Report,  on  the  American 
side  there  has  been  killed  in  battle,  or  died  of 
wounds  received  therein,  1,689  persons ;  there  had 


died  of  diseases  and  accidents,  6,173  ;  3,743  have 
been  wounded  in  battle  who  were  not  known  to 
be  dead  at  the  date  of  the  report 

This  does  not  include  the  deaths  in  the  navy, 
nor  the  destruction  of  men  connected  with  the  ar 
my  in  various  ways  —  as  furnishing  supplies  and 
the  like.  Considering  the  sickness  and  accidents 
that  have  happened  in  the  present  year,  and  others 
which  may  be  expected  before  the  troops  reach 
home,  I  may  set  down  the  total  number  of  deaths 
on  the  American  side,  caused  by  the  war,  at  15,000, 
and  the  number  of  wounded  men  at  4,000.  Sup 
pose  the  army  on  the  average  to  have  consisted  of 
50,000  men  for  two  years,  this  gives  a  mortality 
of  15  per  cent,  each  year,  which  is  an  enormous 
loss  even  for  times  of  war,  and  one  seldom  equalled 
in  modern  warfare. 

Now,  most  of  the  men  who  have  thus  died  or 
been  maimed  were  in  the  prime  of  life  —  able- 
bodied  and  hearty  men.  Had  they  remained  at 
home  in  the  works  of  peace,  it  is  not  likely  that 
more  than  500  of  the  number  would  have  died. 
So  then  14,500  lives  may  be  set  down  at  once  to 
the  account  of  the  war.  The  wounded  men  are 
of  course  to  thank  the  war,  and  that  alone,  for  their 
smart  and  the  life-long  agony  which  they  are  called 
on  to  endure. 

Such  is  the  American  loss.  The  loss  of  the 
Mexicans  we  cannot  now  determine.  But  they 
have  been  many  times  more  numerous  than  the 
Americans;  have  been  badly  armed,  badly  com 
manded,  badly  trained,  and  besides  have  been 
beaten  in  every  battle;  —  their  number  seemed 


21 


often  the  cause  of  their  ruin,  making  them  confi 
dent  before  battle  and  hindering  their  retreat  after 
they  were  beaten.  Still  more,  they  have  been  ill 
provided  with  surgeons  and  nurses  to  care  for  the 
wounded,  and  were  destitute  of  medicines.  They 
must  have  lost  in  battle  five  or  six  times  more  than 
we  have  done,  and  have  had  a  proportionate  num 
ber  of  wounded.  To  "  he  like  a  military  bulletin  " 
is  a  European  proverb  ;  and  it  is  not  necessary  to 
trust  reports  which  tell  of  600  or  900  Mexicans 
left  dead  on  the  ground,  while  the  Americans  lost 
but  five  or  six.  But  when  we  remember  that  only 
12  Americans  were  killed  during  the  bombard 
ment  of  Vera  Cruz,  which  lasted  five  days ;  that 
the  citadel  contained  more  than  5,000  soldiers  and 
over  400  pieces  of  cannon,  we  may  easily  believe 
the  Mexican  losses  on  the  whole  have  been  10,000 
men  killed  and  perished  of  their  wounds.  Their 
loss  by  sickness  would  probably  be  smaller  than 
our  own,  for  the  Mexicans  were  in  their  native  cli 
mate,  though  often  ill  furnished  with  clothes,  with 
shelter  and  provisions ;  so  I  will  put  down  their 
loss  by  ordinary  diseases  at  only  5,000,  making  a 
total  of  15,000  deaths.  Suppose  their  number  of 
wounded  was  four  times  as  great  as  our  own,  or 
20,000.  I  should  not  be  surprised  if  this  were  only 
half  the  number. 

Put  all  together  and  we  have  in  total,  Ameri 
cans  and  Mexicans,  24,000  men  wounded,  more  or 
less,  and  the  greater  part  maimed  for  life  ;  and  we 
have  30,000  men  killed  on  the  field  of  battle,  or 
perished  by  the  slow  torture  of  their  wounds,  or 


22 


deceased  of  diseases  caused  by  extraordinary  expo 
sures,  —  24,000  men  maimed ;  30,000  dead  ! 

You  all  remember  the   bill  which  so   hastily 
passed  Congress  in  May,  1846,  and  authorized  the 
war  previously  begun.     You  perhaps  have  not  for 
got  the  preamble,  "  Whereas  war  exists  by  the  act 
of  Mexico."     Well,  that  bill  authorized  the  waste 
of  $200,000,000  of  American  treasure  —  money 
enough  to  have  built  a  Rail  Road  across  the  Isth 
mus  of  Panama,  and  another  to  connect  the  Mis 
sissippi  and  the  Pacific  ocean;  it  demanded  the 
disturbance  of  industry  and  commerce  all  over  the 
land,   caused  by  withdrawing  $100,000,000  from 
peaceful  investments,  and  diverting  150,000  Amer 
icans  from  their  productive  and  peaceful  works ; 
it  demanded  a  loss  yet  greater  of  the  treasure  of 
Mexicans ;  it  commanded  the  maiming  of  24,000 
men  for  life,  and  the  death  of  30,000  men  in  the 
prime  and  vigor  of  manhood.     Yet  such  was  the 
state  of  feeling  —  I  will  not  say  of  thought  —  in 
the  Congress,  that  out  of  both  houses  only  16  men 
voted  against  it.     If  a  Prophet  had  stood  there  he 
might  have  said  to  the  Representative  of  Boston, 
"You  have  just  voted  for  the  wasting  of  200,000,000 
of  the  very  dollars  you  were  sent  there  to  repre 
sent  ;  for  the  maiming  of  24,000  men  and  the  kill 
ing  of  30,000  more  —  part  by  disease,  part  by  the 
sword,  part  by  the  slow  and  awful  lingerings  of  a 
wounded  frame  !     Sir,  that  is  the  English  of  your 
vote."     Suppose  the  Prophet,  before  the  vote  was 
taken,  could  have  gone  round  and  told  each  mem 
ber  of  Congress,  "  If  there  comes  a  war,  YOU  will 


perish  in  it "  —  perhaps  the  vote  would  have  been 
a  little  different  It  is  easy  to  vote  away  blood,  if 
it  is  not  your  own  ! 

Such  is  the  cost  of  the  war  in  money  and  in 
men.  Yet  it  has  not  been  a  very  cruel  war.  It 
has  been  conducted  with  as  much  gentleness  as  a 
war  of  invasion  can  be.  There  is  no  agreeable  way 
of  butchering  men.  You  cannot  make  it  a  pas 
time.  The  Americans  have  always  been  a  brave 
people ;  they  were  never  cruel.  They  always 
treated  their  prisoners  kindly  —  in  the  Revolution 
ary  war,  in  the  late  war  with  England.  True,  they 
have  seized  the  Mexican  ports,  taken  military  pos 
session  of  the  custom  houses,  and  collected  such 
duties  as  they  saw  fit ;  true,  they  sometimes  made 
the  army  of  invasion  self-subsisting,  and  to  that 
end  have  levied  contributions  on  the  towns  they 
have  taken ;  true,  they  have  seized  provisions 
which  were  private  property,  snatching  them  out 
of  the  hands  of  men  "who  needed  them;  true,  they 
have  robbed  the  rich  and  the  poor ;  true,  they  have 
burned  and  bombarded  towns  —  have  murdered 
men  and  violated  women.  All  this  must  of  course 
take  place  in  any  war.  There  will  be  the  general 
murder  and  robbery  committed  on  account  of  the 
nation,  and  the  particular  murder  and  robbery  on 
account  of  the  special  individual.  This  also  is  to 
be  expected.  You  cannot  set  a  town  on  fire  and 
burn  down  just  half  of  it  —  making  the  flames 
stop  exactly  where  you  will.  You  cannot  take 
the  most  idle,  ignorant,  drunken,  and  vicious  men 
out  of  the  low  population  in  our  cities  and  large 


towns,  get  them  drunk  enough  or  foolish  enough 
to  enlist,  train  them  to  violence,  theft,  robbery, 
murder,  and  then  stop  the  man  from  exercising 
his  rage  or  lust  on  his  own  private  account.  If  it 
is  hard  to  make  a  dog  understand  that  he  must  kill 
a  hare  for  his  master,  but  never  for  himself,  it 
is  not  much  easier  to  teach  a  volunteer  that  it  is  a 
duty,  a  distinction,  and  a  glory  to  rob  and  murder 
the  Mexican  people  for  the  nation's  sake,  but  a 
wrong,  a  shame,  and  a  crime  to  rob  or  murder  a 
single  Mexican  for  his  own  sake.  There  have 
been  instances  of  wanton  cruelty,  occasioned  by 
private  licentiousness  and  individual  barbarity.  Of 
these  I  shall  take  no  further  notice,  but  come  to 
such  as  have  been  commanded  by  the  American 
authorities,  and  which  were  the  official  acts  of  the 
nation. 

One  was  the  capture  of  Tabasco.  Tabasco  is 
a  small  town  several  hundred  miles  from  the  thea 
tre  of  war,  situated  on  a  river  about  80  miles  from 
the  sea,  in  the  midst  of  a  fertile  province.  The 
army  did  not  need  it,  nor  the  navy.  It  did  not  lie 
in  the  way  of  the  American  operations ;  its  pos 
session  would  be  wholly  useless.  But  one  Sun 
day  afternoon,  while  the  streets  were  full  of  men, 
women,  and  children,  engaged  in  their  Sunday 
business,  a  part  of  the  naval  force  of  America 
swept  by ;  the  streets  running  at  right  angles  with 
the  river,  were  enfiladed  by  the  hostile  cannon,  and 
men,  women,  and  children,  unarmed  and  unresist 
ing,  were  mowed  down  by  the  merciless  shot 
The  city  was  taken,  but  soon  abandoned,  for  its 
possession  was  of  no  use.  The  killing  of  those 


men,  women,  and  children  was  as  much  a  piece 
of  murder,  as  it  would  be  to  come  and  shoot  us 
to-day,  and  in  this  house.  No  valid  excuse  has 
been  given  for  this  cold-blooded  massacre  —  none 
can  be  given.  It  was  not  battle,  but  wanton 
butchery.  None  but  a  Pequod  Indian  could  ex 
cuse  it.  The  Theological  newspapers  in  New 
England  thought  it  a  wicked  thing  in  Dr.  Palfrey 
to  write  a  letter  on  Sunday,  though  he  hoped 
thereby  to  help  end  the  war.  How  many  of  them 
had  any  fault  to  find  with  this  national  butchery 
on  the  Lord's  day  ?  Fighting  is  bad  enough  any 
day ;  fighting  for  mere  pay,  or  glory,  or  the  love  of 
fighting,  is  a  wick'ed  thing ;  but  to  fight  on  that 
day  when  the  whole  Christian  world  kneels  to 
pray  in  the  name  of  the  Peace-maker ;  to  butcher 
men  and  women  and  children,  when  they  are 
coming  home  from  church,  with  prayer-books  in 
their  hands,  seems  an  aggravation  even  of  murder ; 
a  cowardly  murder,  which  a  Hessian  would  have 
been  ashamed  of.  "  But  'twas  a  famous  victory." 

One  other  instance,  of  at  least  apparent  wan 
tonness,  took  place  at  the  bombardment  of  Vera 
Cruz.  After  the  siege  had  gone  on  for  a  while, 
the  foreign  consuls  in  the  town,  "  moved,"  as  they 
say,  "  by  the  feeling  of  humanity  excited  in  their 
hearts  by  the  frightful  results  of  the  bombardment 
of  the  city,"  requested  that  the  women  and  chil 
dren  might  be  allowed  to  leave  the  city,  and  not 
stay  to  be  shot.  The  American  General  refused  ; 
they  must  stay  and  be  shot. 

Perhaps  you  have  not  an  adequate  conception 
of  the  effect  produced  by  bombarding  a  town. 


Let  me  interest  you  a  little  in  the  details  thereof. 
Vera  Cruz  is  about  as  large  as  Boston  in  1810  ;  it 
contains  about  30,000  inhabitants.  In  addition  it 
is  protected  by  a  castle  —  the  celebrated  fortress  of 
St.  Juan  d'  Ulloa,  furnished  with  more  than  5000 
soldiers  and  over  400  cannons.  Imagine  to  your 
self  Boston  as  it  was  40  years  ago,  invested  with 
a  fleet  on  one  side,  and  an  army  of  15,000  men 
on  the  land,  both  raining  cannon-balls  and  bomb 
shells  upon  your  houses  ;  shattering  them  to  frag 
ments,  exploding  in  your  streets,  churches,  houses, 
cellars,  mingling  men,  women,  and  children  in 
one  promiscuous  murder.  Suppose  this  to  con 
tinue  five  days  and  nights  ;  —  imagine  the  condi 
tion  of  the  city ;  the  ruins,  the  flames ;  the  dead, 
the  wounded,  the  widows,  orphans ;  think  of  the 
fears  of  the  men  anticipating  the  city  would  be 
sacked  by  a  merciless  soldiery  —  think  of  the  wo 
men  !  Thus  you  will  have  a  faint  notion  of  the 
picture  of  Vera  Cruz  at  the  end  of  March,  1847. 
Do  you  know  the  meaning  of  the  name  of  the 
city  ?  Vera  Cruz  is  the  TRUE  CROSS.  "  See  how 
these  Christians  love  one  another."  The  Ameri 
cans  are  followers  of  the  Prince  of  Peace ;  they 
have  more  missionaries  amongst  the  "heathen" 
than  any  other  nation,  and  the  President,  in  his 
last  message,  says,  "  No  country  has  been  so  much 
favored,  or  should  acknowledge  with  deeper  rever 
ence  the  manifestations  of  the  Divine  protection." 
The  Americans  were  fighting  Mexico  to  dismem 
ber  her  territory,  to  plunder  her  soil,  and  plant 
thereon  the  institution  of  Slavery,  "  the  necessary 
back-ground  of  Freedom." 


Few  of  us  have  ever  seen  a  battle,  and  without 
that  none  can  have  a  complete  notion  of  the  fero 
cious  passions  which  it  excites.  Let  me  help  your 
fancy  a  little  by  relating  an  anecdote  which  seems 
to  be  very  well  authenticated,  and  requires  but  lit 
tle  external  testimony  to  render  it  credible.  At 
any  rate,  it  was  abundantly  believed  a  year  ago  ; 
but  times  change,  and  what  was  then  believed  all 
round  may  now  be  "  the  most  improbable  thing  in 
the  world."  At  the  battle  of  Buena  Vista,  a  Ken 
tucky  regiment  began  to  stagger  under  the  heavy 
charge  of  the  Mexicans.  The  American  com- 
mander-in-chief  turned  to  one  who  stood  near 
him,  and  exclaimed,  "By  God,  this  will  not  do. 
This  is  not  the  way  for  Kentuckians  to  behave 
when  called  on  to  make  good  a  battle.  It  will  not 
answer,  sir."  So  the  General  clenched  his  fist, 
knit  his  brows,  and  set  his  teeth  hard  together. 
However,  the  Kentuckians  presently  formed  in 
good  order  and  gave  a  deadly  fire,  which  altered 
the  battle.  Then  the  old  General  broke  out  with 
a  loud  hurrah.  "  Hurrah  for  old  Kenttick,"  he  ex 
claimed,  rising  in  his  stirrups ;  "  that's  the  way  to 
do  it.  Give  'em  hell,  damn  'em,"  and  tears  of  ex 
ultation  rolled  down  his  cheeks  as  he  said  it.  You 
find  the  name  of  this  general  at  the  head  of  most 
of  the  whig  newspapers  in  the  United  States.  He 
is  one  of  the  most  popular  candidates  for  the  Pres 
idency.  Cannons  were  fired  for  him  —  a  hundred 
guns  on  Boston  Common,  not  long  ago  —  in  honor 
of  his  nomination  for  the  highest  office  in  the  gift 
of  a  free  and  Christian  people.  Soon  we  shall 
probably  have  clerical  certificates,  setting  forth  — 


28 


to  the  people  of  the  North  —  that  he  is  an  ex 
emplary  Christian.  You  know  how  Faneuil  Hall, 
the  old  "  Cradle  of  Liberty,"  rang  with  "  hurrah  for 
Taylor,"  but  a  few  days  ago.  The  seven  wise 
men  of  Greece  were  famous  in  their  day  ;  but  now 
nothing  is  known  of  them  except  a  single  pungent 
aphorism  from  each,  "  Know  thyself,"  and  the  like. 
The  time  may  come  when  our  great  men  shall 
have  suffered  this  same  reduction  descending  —  all 
their  robes  of  glory  having  vanished  save  a  single 
thread.  Then  shall  Franklin  be  known  only  as 
having 'said,  "DON'T  GIVE  TOO  MUCH  FOR  THE  WHIS 
TLE  " ;  Patrick  Henry  for  his  "  GIVE  ME  LIBERTY  OR 
GIVE  ME  DEATH  " ;  Washington  for  his  "  IN  PEACE 
PREPARE  FOR  WAR  " ;  Jefferson  for  his  "  ALL  MEN  ARE 
CREATED  EQUAL  "  ;  —  and  General  Taylor  shall  be 
known  only  by  his  attributes  rough  and  ready,  and 
for  his  aphorism,  "  Give  'em  hell,  damn  'em"  Yet 
he  does  not  seem  to  be  a  ferocious  man,  but  gen 
erous  and  kindly,  it  is  said,  and  strongly  opposed 
to  this  particular  war,  whose  "natural  justice" 
it  seems  he  looked  at,  and  which  he  thought  was 
wicked  at  the  beginning,  though,  on  that  account, 
he  was  none  the  less  ready  to  fight  it. 

One  thing  more  I  must  mention  in  speaking  of 
the  cost  of  men.  According  to  the  Report  quoted 
just  now,  4,966  American  soldiers  had  deserted  in 
Mexico.  Some  of  them  had  joined  the  Mexican 
army.  When  the  American  commissioners  who 
were  sent  to  secure  the  ratification  of  the  treaty, 
went  to  Queretaro,  they  found  there  a  body  of  200 
American  soldiers,  and  800  more  were  at  no  great 
distance,  mustered  into  the  Mexican  service. 


29 


These  men,  it  seems,  had  served  out  their  time 
in  the  American  camp,  and  notwithstanding  they 
had  —  as  the  President  says  in  his  message  — 
"covered  themselves  with  imperishable  honors," 
by  fighting  men  who  never  injured  them,  they 
were  willing  to  go  and  seek  yet  a  thicker  mantle 
of  this  imperishable  honor,  by  fighting  against 
their  own  country !  Why  should  they  not  ?  If  it 
were  RIGHT  to  kill  Mexicans  for  a  few  dollars  a 
month,  why  was  it  not  right  also  to  kill  Ameri 
cans,  especially  when  it  pays  the  most  ?  Perhaps 
it  is  not  an  American  habit  to  inquire  into  the  jus 
tice  of  a  war,  only  into  the  profit  which  it  may 
bring.  If  the  Mexicans  pay  best  —  in  money  — 
these  1000  soldiers  made  a  good  speculation.  No 
doubt  in  Mexico  military  glory  is  at  a  premium  — 
though  it  could  hardly  command  a  greater  price 
just  now  than  in  America,  where,  however,  the 
supply  seems  equal  to  the  demand. 

The  numerous  desertions  and  the  readiness 
with  which  the  soldiers  joined  the  "  foe ",  show 
plainly  the  moral  character  of  the  men,  and  the 
degree  of  " Patriotism "  and  "Humanity"  which 
animated  them  in  going  to  war.  You  know  the 
severity  of  military  discipline ;  the  terrible  beat 
ings  men  are  subjected  to  before  they  can  become 
perfect  in  the  soldier's  art ;  the  horrible  and  revolt 
ing  punishments  imposed  on  them  for  drunken 
ness —  though  little  pains  were  taken  to  keep  the 
temptation  from  their  eyes  —  and  disobedience  of 
general  orders.  You  have  read  enough  of  this  in 
the  newspapers.  The  officers  of  the  volunteers,  I 
am  told,  have  generally  been  men  of  little  edu- 


cation,  men  of  strong  passions  and  bad  habits ; 
many  of  them  abandoned  men,  who  belonged  to 
the  refuse  of  society.  Such  men  run  into  an  army 
as  the  wash  of  the  street  runs  into  the  sewers. 
Now  when  such  a  man  gets  clothed  with  a  little 
authority,  in  time  of  peace,  you  know  what  use 
he  makes  of  it ;  but  when  he  covers  himself  with 
the  "  imperishable  honors  "  of  his  official  coat,  gets 
an  epaulette  on  his  shoulder,  a  sword  by  his  side, 
a  commission  in  his  pocket,  and  visions  of  "glory" 
in  his  head,  you  may  easily  judge  how  he  will  use 
his  authority,  or  may  read  in  the  newspapers  how 
he  has  used  it.  When  there  are  brutal  soldiers, 
commanded  by  brutal  captains,  it  is  to  be  supposed 
that  much  brutality  is  to  be  suffered. 

Now  desertion  is  a  great  offence  in  a  soldier ; 
in  this  army  it  is  one  of  the  most  common  —  for 
nearly  ten  per  cent,  of  the  American  army  has  de 
serted  in  Mexico,  not  to  mention  the  desertions 
before  the  army  reached  that  country.  It  is  related 
that  forty-eight  men  were  hanged  at  once  for  de 
sertion  ;  not  hanged  as  you  judicially  murder  men 
in  time  of  peace,  privately,  as  if  ashamed  of  the 
deed,  in  the  corner  of  a  jail,  and  by  a  contrivance 
which  shortens  the  agony  and  makes  death  hu 
mane  as  possible.  These  forty-eight  men  were 
hanged  slowly ;  put  to  death  with  painful  procras 
tinations —  their  agony  wilfully  prolonged,  and 
death  embittered  by  needless  ferocity.  But  that  is 
not  all :  it  is  related,  that  these  men  were  doomed 
to  be  thus  murdered  on  the  day  when  the  battle  of 
Churubusco  took  place.  These  men,  awaiting 
their  death,  were  told  they  should  not  suffer  till 


the  American  flag  should  wave  its  stripes  over  the 
hostile  walls.  So  they  were  kept  in  suspense  an 
hour,  and  then  —  slowly  hanged  —  one  by  one. 
You  know  the  name  of  the  officer  on  whom  this 
barbarity  rests;  it  was  Colonel  Harney,  a  man 
whose  reputation  was  black  enough  and  base 
enough  before.  His  previous  deeds,  however,  re 
quire  no  mention  here.  But  this  man  is  now  a 
General  —  and  so  on  the  high  road  to  the  Presi 
dency,  whenever  it  shall  please  our  Southern  mas 
ters  to  say  the  word.  Some  accounts  say  there 
were  more  than  forty-eight  who  thus  were  hanged. 
I  only  give  the  number  of  those  whose  names  lie 
printed  before  me  as  I  write.  Perhaps  the  num 
ber  was  less ;  it  is  impossible  to  obtain  exact  in 
formation  in  respect  to  the  matter,  for  the  govern 
ment  has  not  yet  published  an  account  of  the  pun 
ishments  inflicted  in  this  war.  The  information 
can  only  be  obtained  by  a  "  Resolution  "  of  either 
house  of  Congress,  and  so  is  not  likely  to  be  had 
before  the  election.  But  at  the  same  time  with 
the  execution,  other  deserters  were  scourged  with 
fifty  lashes  each,  branded  with  a  letter  D,  a  perpet 
ual  mark  of  infamy,  on  their  cheek,  compelled  to 
wear  an  iron  yoke,  weighing  eight  pounds,  about 
their  neck.  Six  men  were  made  to  dig  the  grave 
of  their  companions,  and  were  then  flogged  with 
two  hundred  lashes  each. 

I  wish  this  hanging  of  forty-eight  men  could 
have  taken  place  in  State  Street,  and  the  respecta 
ble  citizens  of  Boston,  who  like  this  war,  had  been 
made  to  look  on  and  see  it  all ;  that  they  had  seen 
those  poor  culprits  bid  farewell  to  father,  mother, 


wife,  or  child,  looking  wishfully  for  the  hour 
which  was  to  end  their  torment,  and  then,  one  by 
one,  have  seen  them  slowly  hanged  to  death ;  that 
your  Representative,  ye  men  of  Boston,  had  put 
on  all  the  halters !  He  did  help  put  them  on ;  that 
infamous  vote  —  I  speak  not  of  the  motive,  it  may 
have  been  as  honorable  as  the  vote  itself  was  in 
famous —  doomed  these  eight  and  forty  men  to  be 
thus  murdered. 

Yes,  I  wish  all  this  killing  of  the  2,000  Ameri 
cans  on  the  field  of  battle,  and  the  10,000  Mexi 
cans;  all  this  slashing  of  the  bodies  of  24,000 
wounded  men ;  all  the  agony  of  the  other  18,000 
that  have  died  of  disease,  could  have  taken  place 
in  some  spot  where  the  President  of  the  United 
States  and  his  Cabinet,  where  all  the  Congress 
who  voted  for  the  war,  with  the  Baltimore  conven 
tions  of  '44  and  '48,  and  the  Whig  convention  of 
Philadelphia,  and  the  controlling  men  of  both  po 
litical  parties,  who  care  nothing  for  this  bloodshed 
and  misery  they  have  idly  caused  —  could  have 
stood  and  seen  it  all ;  and  then  that  the  voice  of 
the  whole  nation  had  come  up  to  them  and  said, 
"  This  is  your  work,  not  ours.  Certainly  we  will 
not  shed  our  blood,  nor  our  brothers'  blood,  to  get 
never  so  much  slave  territory.  It  was  bad  enough 
to  fight  in  the  cause  of  Freedom.  In  the  cause  of 
Slavery — God  forgive  us  for  that!  We  have 
trusted  you  thus  far,  but  please  God,  we  never  will 
trust  you  again." 


Let  us  now  look  at  the  effect  of  this  war  on  the 


33 


morals  of  the  nation.  The  Revolutionary  war 
was  the  contest  for  a  great  Idea.  If  there  were 
ever  a  just  war  it  was  that  —  a  contest  for  national 
existence.  Yet  it  brought  out  many  of  the  worst 
qualities  of  human  nature,  on  both  sides,  as  well 
as  some  of  the  best.  It  helped  make  a  Washing 
ton,  it  is  true,  but  a  Benedict  Arnold  likewise.  A 
war  with  a  powerful  nation,  terrible  as  it  must  be, 
yet  develops  the  energy  of  the  people,  promotes 
self-denial,  and  helps  the  growth  of  some  qualities 
of  a  high  order.  It  had  this  effect  in  England  from 
1798  to  1815.  True,  England  for  that  time  be 
came  a  despotism,  but  the  self-consciousness  of 
the  nation,  its  self-denial  and  energy  were  amaz 
ingly  stimulated ;  the  moral  effect  of  that  series  of 
wars  was  doubtless  far  better  than  of  that  infa 
mous  contest  which  she  has  kept  up  against  Ire 
land  for  many  years.  Let  us  give  even  war  its 
due ;  when  a  great  boy  fights  with  an  equal,  it 
may  develop  his  animal  courage  and  strength  — 
for  he  gets  as  bad  as  he  gives,  but  when  he  only 
beats  a  little  boy  that  cannot  pay  back  his  blows, 
it  is  cowardly  as  well  as  cruel,  and  doubly  debas 
ing  to  the  conqueror.  Mexico  was  no  match  for 
America.  We  all  knew  that  very  well  before  the 
war  began.  When  a  nation  numbering  8,000,000 
or  9,000,000  of  people  can  be  successfully  invaded 
by  an  army  of  75,000  men,  two  thirds  of  them 
volunteers,  raw  and  undisciplined ;  when  the  in 
vaders  with  less  than  15,000  can  march  two  hun 
dred  miles  into  the  very  heart  of  the  hostile  coun 
try,  and  with  less  than  6,000  can  take  and  hold 
the  capital  of  the  nation  —  a  city  of  100,000  or 

3 


34 


200,000  inhabitants  —  and  dictate  a  peace,  taking 
as  much  territory  as  they  will  —  it  is  hardly  fair  to 
dignify  such  operations  with  the  name  of  war. 
The  little  good  which  a  long  contest  with  an  equal 
might  produce  in  the  conqueror,  is  wholly  lost. 
Had  Mexico  been  a  strong  nation  we  should  never 
have  had  this  conflict.  A  few  years  ago,  when 
General  Cass  wanted  a  war  with  England,  "an 
old-fashioned  war,"  and  declared  it  "unavoidable," 
all  the  men  of  property  trembled.  The  Northern 
men  thought  of  their  mills  and  their  ships ;  they 
thought  how  Boston  and  New  York  would  look 
after  a  war  with  our  sturdy  old  Father  over  the 
sea ;  they  thought  we  should  lose  many  millions 
of  dollars  and  gain  nothing.  The  men  of  the 
South,  who  have  no  mills  and  no  ships  and  no 
large  cities  to  be  destroyed,  thought  of  then*  "  pe 
culiar  institution,"  they  thought  of  a  servile  war, 
they  thought  what  might  become  of  their  slaves,  if 
a  nation  which  gave  $100,000,000  to  emancipate 
her  bondmen  should  send  a  large  army  with  a  few 
black  soldiers  from  Jamaica ;  should  offer  money, 
arms,  and  freedom  to  all  who  would  leave  their 
masters  and  claim  their  Unalienable  Rights.  They 
knew  the  Southern  towns  would  be  burnt  to  ashes, 
and  the  whole  South,  from  Virginia  to  the  Gulf, 
would  be  swept  with  fire,  —  and  they  said,  "Don't" 
The  North  said  so,  and  the  South,  they  feared  such 
a  war,  with  such  a  foe.  Every  body  knows  the 
effect  which  this  fear  had  on  Southern  politicians, 
in  the  beginning  of  this  century,  and  how  gladly 
they  made  peace  with  England  soon  as  she  was  at 
liberty  to  turn  her  fleet  and  her  army  against  the 


35 


most  vulnerable  part  of  the  nation.  I  am  not 
blind  to  the  wickedness  of  England  —  more  than 
ignorant  of  the  good  things  she  has  done  and  is 
doing;  —  a  Paradise  for  the  rich  and  strong,  she 
is  still  a  Purgatory  for  the  wise  and  the  good,  and 
the  Hell  of  the  poor  and  the  weak.  I  have  no 
fondness  for  war  anywhere  —  and  believe  it  need 
less  and  wanton  in  this  age  of  the  world,  surely 
needless  and  wicked  between  Father  England 
and  Daughter  America ;  but  I  do  solemnly  believe 
that  the  moral  effect  of  such  an  old-fashioned  war 
as  Mr.  Cass  in  1845  thought  unavoidable,  would 
have  been  better  than  that  of  this  Mexican  war. 
It  would  have  ended  Slavery ;  ended  it  in  blood  no 
doubt,  the  worst  thing  to  blot  out  an  evil  with, 
but  ended  it  and  forever.  God  grant  it  may  yet 
have  a  more  peaceful  termination.  We  should 
have  lost  millions  of  property  and  thousands  of 
men,  and  then,  when  Peace  *came,  we  should 
know  what  it  was  worth ;  —  and  as  the  burnt  child 
dreads  the  fire,  no  future  President,  or  Congress,  or 
Convention,  or  Party  would  talk  much  in  favor  of 
war  for  some  years  to  come. 

The  moral  effect  of  this  war  is  thoroughly  bad. 
It  was  unjust  in  the  beginning.  Mexico  did  not 
pay  her  debts;  but  though  the  United  States  in 
1783  acknowledged  the  British  claims  against  our 
selves,  they  were  not  paid  till  1803.  Our  claims 
against  England  for  her  depredations  in  1793  were 
not  paid  till  1804 ;  our  claims  against  France  for 
her  depredations  in  1806-13  were  not  paid  us  till 
1834.  The  fact  that  Mexico  refused  to  receive 
the  resident  minister  which  the  United  States  sent 


36 


to  settle  the  disputes,  when  a  commissioner  was 
expected  —  this  was  no  ground  of  war.  We  have 
lately  seen  a  British  ambassador  ordered  to  leave 
Spain  within  eight  and  forty  hours,  and  yet  the 
English  minister  of  foreign  affairs,  Lord  Palmer- 
ston  —  no  new  hand  at  diplomacy  —  declares  that 
this  does  not  interrupt  the  concord  of  the  two  na 
tions  !  We  treated  Mexico  contemptuously  before 
hostilities  began  ;  and  when  she  sent  troops  into  a 
territory  which  she  had  always  possessed  —  though 
Texas  had  claimed  it  —  we  declared  that  that  was 
an  act  of  war,  and  ourselves  sent  an  army  to  in 
vade  her  soil,  to  capture  her  cities,  and  seize  her 
territory.  It  has  been  a  war  of  plunder,  under 
taken  for  the  purpose  of  seizing  Mexican  territory 
and  extending  over  it  that  dismal  curse  which 
blackens,  impoverishes,  and  barbarizes  half  the 
Union  now,  and  slowly  corrupts  the  other  half  It 
was  not  enough  to  have  Louisiana  a  slave  territo 
ry  ;  not  enough  to  make  that  institution  perpetual 
in  Florida  ;  not  enough  to  extend  this  blight  over 
Texas  —  we  must  have  yet  more  slave  soil,  one 
day  to  be  carved  into  slave  states,  to  bind  the 
Southern  yoke  yet  more  securely  on  the  Northern 
neck  ;  to  corrupt  yet  more  the  politics,  literature, 
morals  of  the  North.  The  war  was  unjust  at  its 
beginning;  mean  in  its  motives,  a  war  without 
honorable  cause  ;  a  war  for  plunder,  a  quarrel  be 
tween  a  great  boy  and  a  little  puny  weakling  who 
could  not  walk  alone,  and  could  hardly  stand. 
We  have  treated  Mexico  as  the  three  Northern 
powers  treated  Poland  in  the  last  century  —  stooped 
to  conquer.  Nay,  our  contest  has  been  like  the 


37 


English  seizure  of  Ireland.  All  the  Justice  was 
on  one  side  —  the  force,  skill,  and  wealth  on  the 
other. 

I  know  men  say  the  war  has  shown  us  that 
Americans  could  fight.  Could  fight !  —  almost  ev 
ery  male  beast  will  fight,  the  more  brutal  the  better. 
The  long  war  of  the  Revolution,  when  Connecti 
cut,  for  seven  years,  kept  5000  men  in  the  field, 
showed  that  Americans  could  fight ;  —  Bunker  Hill 
and  Lexington  showed  that  they  could  fight  even 
without  previous  discipline.  If  such  valor  be  a 
merit,  I  am  ready  to  believe  that  the  Americans  in 
a  great  cause  like  that  of  Mexico  —  to  resist  wick 
ed  invasion  —  would  fight  as  men  never  fought 
before.  A  Republic  like  our  own  —  where  every 
free  man  feels  an  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  na 
tion  —  is  full  of  the  elements  that  make  soldiers. 
Is  that  a  praise  ?  Most  men  think  so,  but  it  is  the 
smallest  honor  of  a  nation.  Of  all  glories,  military 
glory  at  its  best  estate  seems  the  poorest. 

Men  tell  us  it  shows  the  strength  of  the  nation ; 
and  some  writers  quote  the  opinions  of  European 
kings  who,  when  hearing  of  the  battles  of  Monte 
rey,  Buena  Vista,  and  Vera  Cruz,  became  con 
vinced  that  we  were  "  a  great  people."  Remem 
bering  the  character  of  these  kings,  one  can  easily 
believe  that  such  was  their  judgment,  and  will  not 
sigh  many  times  at  their  fate,  but  will  hope  to  see 
the  day  when  the  last  king  who  can  estimate  a  na 
tion's  strength  only  by  its  battles  has  passed  on  to 
impotence  and  oblivion.  The  power  of  America 
—  do  we  need  proof  of  that?  I  see  it  in  the 
streets  of  Boston  and  New  York ;  in  Lowell  and 


38 


in  Lawrence ;  I  see  it  in  our  mills  and  our  si 
I  read  it  in  those  letters  of  iron  written  all  over  the 
North,  where  he  may  read  that  runs ;  I  see  it  in 
the  unconquered  energy  which  tames  the  forest, 
the  rivers,  and  the  ocean;  in  the  school-houses 
which  lift  then*  modest  roof  in  every  village  of  the 
North ;  in  the  churches  that  rise  all  over  the  Free 
man's  land  —  would  God  that  they  rose  higher  — 
pointing  down  to  man  and  to  human  duties,  and 
up  to  God  and  immortal  life.  I  see  the  strength 
of  America  in  that  tide  of  population  which  spreads 
over  the  prairies  of  the  West,  and,  beating  on  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  dashes  its  peaceful  spray  to  the 
very  shores  of  the  Pacific  sea.  Had  we  taken 
150,000  men  and  $200,000,000,  and  built  two  Rail 
Roads  across  the  continent,  that  would  have  been 
a  worthy  sign  of  the  nation's  strength.  Perhaps 
the  kings  could  not  see  it ;  but  sensible  men  could 
see  it  and  be  glad.  Now  this  waste  of  treasure 
and  this  waste  of  blood  is  only  a  proof  of  weak 
ness.  War  is  a  transient  weakness  of  the  nation, 
but  Slavery  a  permanent  imbecility. 

What  falsehood  has  this  war  produced  in  the 
executive  and  legislative  power;  in  both  parties 
—  Whigs  and  Democrats  !  I  always  thought  that 
here  in  Massachusetts  the  Whigs  were  the  most  to 
blame ;  they  tried  to  put  the  disgrace  of  the  war 
on  the  others,  while  the  Democratic  party  coolly 
faced  the  wickedness.  Did  far-sighted  men  know 
that  there  would  be  a  war  on  Mexico,  or  on  the 
Tariff,  or  the  Currency,  and  prefer  the  first  as  the 
least  evil ! 

See  to  what  the  war  has  driven  two  of  the  most 


39 


famous  men  of  the  nation  :  —  one  wished  to  "  cap 
ture  or  slay  a  Mexican,"  the  other  could  encourage 
the  volunteers  to  fight  a  war  which  he  had  de 
nounced  as  needless,  "a  war  of  pretexts,"  and 
place  the  men  of  Monterey  before  the  men  of 
Bunker  Hill ;  each  could  invest  a  son  in  that  un 
holy  cause.  You  know  the  rest:  the  fathers  ate 
sour  grapes  and  the  children's  teeth  were  set  on 
edge.  When  a  man  goes  on  board  an  emigrant 
ship  reeking  with  filth  and  fever,  not  for  gain, 
not  for  "  glory,"  but  in  brotherly  love,  catches  the 
contagion  and  dies  a  martyr  to  his  heroic  benevo 
lence,  men  speak  of  it  in  corners  and  it  is  soon 
forgot ;  there  is  no  parade  in  the  streets ;  Society 
takes  little  pains  to  do  honor  to  the  man.  How 
rarely  is  a  pension  given  to  his  widow  or  his 
child ;  only  once  in  the  whole  land,  and  then 
but  a  small  sum.  But  when  a  volunteer  officer  — 
for  of  the  humbler  and  more  excusable  men  that 
fall  we  take  no  heed,  War  may  mow  that  crop  of 
"  vulgar  deaths  "  with  what  scythe  he  will  —  falls 
or  dies  in  the  quarrel  which  he  had  no  concern  in, 
falls  in  a  broil  between  the  two  nations,  your 
newspapers  extol  the  man,  and  with  martial 
pomp,  "  sonorous  metal  blowing  martial  sounds," 
with  all  the  honors  of  the  most  honored  dead,  you 
lay  away  his  body  in  the  tomb.  Thus  is  it  that 
the  nation  teaches  these  little  ones  that  it  is  better 
to  kill  than  to  make  alive. 

I  know  there  are  men  in  the  army,  honorable 
and  high-minded  men,  Christian  men,  who  dislike 
war  in  general,  and  this  war  in  special,  but  such  is 
then:  view  of  official  duty  that  they  obeyed  the 


40 


summons  of  battle,  though  with  pain  and  reluc 
tance.  They  knew  not  how  to  avoid  obedience. 
I  am  willing  to  believe  there  are  many  such.  But 
with  volunteers  —  who  of  their  own  accord  came 
forth  to  enlist  —  men  not  blinded  by  ignorance,  not 
driven  by  poverty  to  the  field,  but  only  by  hope  of 
reward  —  what  shall  be  said  of  them !  Much  may 
be  said  to  excuse  the  rank  and  file,  ignorant  men, 
many  of  them  in  want  —  but  for  the  leaders,  what 
can  be  said  ?  Had  I  a  brother  who  in  the  day  of 
the  nation's  extremity  came  forward  with  a  good 
conscience,  and  perilled  his  life  on  the  battle 
field  and  lost  it,  "in  the  sacred  cause  of  God 
and  his  country,"  I  would  honor  the  man,  and 
when  his  dust  came  home  I  would  lay  it  away 
with  his  fathers  —  with  sorrow  indeed,  but  with 
thankfulness  of  heart,  that  for  conscience'  sake  he 
was  ready  even  to  die.  But  had  I  a  brother  who 
merely  for  his  pay,  or  hope  of  fame,  had  volunta 
rily  gone  down  to  fight  innocent  men,  to  plunder 
their  territory,  and  lost  his  life  in  that  felonious  es 
say —  in  sorrow  and  in  silence  and  in  secrecy 
would  I  lay  down  his  body  in  the  grave ;  I  would 
not  court  display,  nor  mark  it  with  a  single  stone. 

See  how  this  war  has  affected  public  opinion. 
How  many  of  your  newspapers  have  shown  its 
true  atrocity ;  how  many  of  the  pulpits  ?  Yet  if 
any  one  is  appointed  to  tell  of  public  wrongs  it  is 
the  Minister  of  Religion.  The  Governor  of  Mas 
sachusetts  is  an  officer  of  a  Christian  church  —  a 
man  distinguished  for  many  excellences,  some  of 
them  by  no  means  common  ;  in  private,  it  is  said, 
he  is  opposed  to  the  war  and  thinks  it  wicked ; 


41 


but  no  man  has  lent  himself  as  a  readier  tool  to ' 
promote  it.  The  Christian  and  the  Man  seem  lost 
in  the  Office  —  in  the  Governor !  What  a  lesson 
of  falseness  does  all  this  teach  to  that  large  class 
of  persons  who  look  no  higher  than  the  example 
of  eminent  men  for  their  instruction.  You  know 
what  complaints  have  been  made,  by  the  highest 
authority  in  the  nation,  because  a  few  men  dared 
to  speak  against  the  war.  It  was  "  affording  aid 
and  comfort  to  the  enemy."  If  the  war-party  had 
been  stronger,  and  feared  no  public  opinion,  we 
should  have  had  men  hanged  for  treason  because 
they  spoke  of  this  national  iniquity !  Nothing 
would  have  been  easier.  A  "gag  law"  is  not 
wholly  unknown  in  America. 

If  you  will  take  all  the  theft,  all  the  assaults,  all 
the  cases  of  arson,  ever  committed  in  time  of 
peace  in  the  United  States  since  1620,  and  add  to 
them  all  the  cases  of  violence  offered  to  woman, 
with  all  the  murders  —  they  will  not  amount  to 
half  the  wrongs  committed  in  this  war  for  the 
plunder  of  Mexico.  Yet  the  cry  has  been  and  still 
is,  "  You  must  not  say  a  word  against  it ;  if  you 
do,  you  '  afford  aid  and  comfort  to  the  enemy.' " 
Not  tell  the  nation  that  she  is  doing  wrong? 
What  a  miserable  saying  is  that ;  let  it  come  from 
what  high  authority  it  may,  it  is  a  miserable  say 
ing.  Make  the  case  your  own.  Suppose  the  Uni 
ted  States  were  invaded  by  a  nation  ten  times 
abler  for  war  than  we  are  —  with  a  cause  no  more 
just,  intentions  equally  bad ;  invaded  for  the  pur 
pose  of  dismembering  our  territory  and  making 
our  own  New  England  the  soil  of  Slaves ;  would 


42 


'you  be  still  ?  would  you  stand  and  look  on  tamely 
while  the  hostile  hosts,  strangers  in  language,  man 
ners,  and  religion,  crossed  your  rivers,  seized  your 
ports,  burnt  your  towns  ?  No,  surely  not.  Though 
the  men  of  New  England  would  not  be  able  to 
resist  with  most  celestial  love,  they  would  contend 
with  most  manly  vigor ;  and  I  should  rather  see 
every  house  swept  clean  off  the  land,  and  the 
ground  sheeted  with  our  own  dead ;  rather  see 
every  man,  woman,  and  child  in  the  land  slain, 
than  see  them  tamely  submit  to  such  a  wrong  — 
and  so  would  you.  No,  sacred  as  life  is  and  dear 
as  it  is,  better  let  it  be  trodden  out  by  the  hoof  of 
war  rather  than  yield  tamely  to  a  wrong.  But 
while  you  were  doing  your  utmost  to  repel  such 
formidable  injustice,  if  in  the  midst  of  your  invad 
ers  men  rose  up  and  said,  "America  is  in  the 
right,  and  Brothers,  you  are  wrong,  you  should  not 
thus  kill  men  to  steal  their  land  ;  shame  on  you !  " 
—  how  should  you  feel  towards  such?  Nay,  in 
the  struggle  with  England,  when  our  fathers  per 
illed  every  thing  but  honor,  and  fought  for  the  Un- 
alienable  Rights  of  man,  you  all  remember,  how 
in  England  herself  there  stood  up  noble  men,  and 
with  a  voice  that  was  heard  above  the  roar  of  the 
populace,  and  an  authority  higher  than  the  majes 
ty  of  the  throne  they  said,  "You  do  a  wrong; 
you  may  ravage,  but  you  cannot  conquer.  If  I 
were  an  American,  while  a  foreign  troop  remained 
in  my  land,  I  would  never  lay  down  my  arms ; 
no,  never,  never,  never ! " 

But  I  wander  a  little  from  my  theme  —  the 
effect  of  the  war  on  the  morals  of  the  nation. 


43 


Here  are  50,000  or  75,000  men  trained  to  kill. 
Hereafter  they  will  be  of  little  service  in  any  good 
work.  Many  of  them  were  the  offscouring  of  the 
people  at  first.  Now  these  men  have  tasted  the 
idleness,  the  intemperance,  the  debauchery  of  a 
camp  —  tasted  of  its  riot,  tasted  of  its  blood  !  They 
will  come  home  before  long,  hirelings  of  murder ; 
what  will  their  influence  be  as  fathers,  husbands  ? 
The  nation  taught  them  to  fight  and  plunder  the 
Mexicans  for  the  nation's  sake ;  the  Governor  of 
Massachusetts  called  on  them  in  the  name  of 
" Patriotism "  and  "Humanity"  to  enlist  for  that 
work :  but  ifj  with  no  justice  on  our  side,  it  is 
humane  and  patriotic  to  fight  and  plunder  the 
Mexicans  on  the  nation's  account,  why  not  for  the 
soldier  to  fight  and  plunder  an  American  on  his 
own  account  ?  Aye,  why  not  ?  —  that  is  a  distinc 
tion  too  nice  for  common  minds ;  by  far  too  nice 
for  mine. 

See  the  effect  on  the  nation.  We  have  just 
plundered  Mexico ;  taken  a  piece  of  her  territory 
larger  than  the  thirteen  states  which  fought  the 
Revolution,  a  hundred  times  as  large  as  Massachu 
setts  ;  we  have  burnt  her  cities,  have  butchered 
her  men,  have  been  victorious  in  every  contest 
The  Mexicans  were  as  unprotected  women,  we, 
armed  men.  See  how  the  lust  of  conquest  will 
increase.  Soon  it  will  be  the  ambition  of  the  next 
president  to  extend  the  "  area  of  freedom  "  a  little 
further  South ;  the  lust  of  conquest  will  increase. 
Soon  we  must  have  Yucatan,  Central  America,  all 
of  Mexico,  Cuba,  Porto  Rico,  Hayti,  Jamaica  —  all 
the  islands  of  the  Gulf.  Many  men  would  gladly, 
I  doubt  not,  extend  the  area  of  freedom  so  as  to 


44 


include  the  free  blacks  of  those  islands.  We  have 
long  looked  with  jealous  eyes  on  West  Indian 
emancipation  —  hoping  the  scheme  would  not 
succeed.  How  pleasant  it  would  be  to  re-establish 
slavery  in  Hayti  and  Jamaica  —  in  all  the  islands 
whence  the  Gold  of  England  or  the  Ideas  of 
France  have  driven  it  out.  If  the  South  wants 
this,  would  the  North  object  ?  The  possession  of 
the  West  Indies  would  bring  much  money  to  New 
England,  and  what  is  the  value  of  Freedom  com 
pared  to  coffee  and  sugar  —  and  cotton? 

I  must  say  one  word  of  the  effect  this  war  has 
had  on  political  parties.  By  the  parties  I  mean 
the  leaders  thereof,  the  men  that  control  the  par 
ties.  The  effect  on  the  Democratic  party,  on  the 
majority  of  Congress,  on  the  most  prominent  men 
of  the  nation,  has  been  mentioned  before.  It  has 
shut  their  eyes  to  truth  and  justice,  it  has  filled 
their  mouths  with  injustice  and  falsehood.  It  has 
made  one  man  "  available "  for  the  Presidency 
who  was  only  known  before  as  a  sagacious  gener 
al,  that  fought  against  the  Indians  in  Florida,  and 
acquired  a  certain  reputation  by  the  use  of  Blood 
hounds,  a  reputation  which  was  rather  unenviable 
even  in  America.  The  battles  in  northern  Mexico 
made  him  conspicuous,  and  now  he  is  seized  on 
as  an  engine  to  thrust  one  corrupt  party  out  of 
power  and  to  lift  in  another  party,  I  will  not  say 
less  corrupt,  —  I  wish  I  could,  —  it  were  difficult  to 
think  it  more  so.  This  latter  party  has  been  con 
spicuous  for  its  opposition  to  a  military  man  as 
ruler  of  a  free  people ;  recently  it  has  been  smit 
ten  with  sudden  admiration  for  military  men,  and 
military  success,  and  tells  the  people,  without  a 


45 


blush,  that  a  military  man  fresh  from  a  fight  which 
he  disapproved  of  is  most  likely  to  restore  peace, 
because  most  familiar  with  the  evils  of  war  !  In 
Massachusetts  the  prevalent  political  party,  as  such, 
for  some  years  seems  to  have  had  no  moral  princi 
ple  ;  however,  it  had  a  prejudice  in  favor  of  decen 
cy — now  it  has  thrown  that  overboard,  and  has  not 
even  its  respectability  left.  Where  are  its  "  Reso 
lutions  "  ?  Some  men  knew  what  they  were  worth 
long  ago ;  now  all  men  can  see  what  they  are 
worth. 

The  cost  of  the  war  in  money  and  men  I  have 
tried  to  calculate,  but  the  effect  on  the  morals  of 
the  people  —  on  the  Press,  the  Pulpit,  and  the  Par 
ties  —  and  through  them  on  the  rising  generation, 
it  is  impossible  to  tell.  I  have  only  faintly  sketched 
the  outline  of  that.  The  effect  of  the  war  on  Mex 
ico  herself — we  can  dimly  see  in  the  distance. 
The  government  of  the  United  States  has  wilfully, 
wantonly  broken  the  peace  of  the  continent.  The 
Revolutionary  war  was  unavoidable,  but  for  this 
invasion  there  is  no  excuse.  That  God,  whose 
providence  watches  over  the  falling  nation  as  the 
falling  sparrow,  and  whose  comprehensive  plans 
are  now  advanced  by  the  righteousness  and  now 
by  the  wrath  of  man,  —  He  who  stilleth  the  waves 
of  the  sea  and  the  tumult  of  the  people,  will  turn 
all  this  wickedness  to  account  in  the  history  of 
man.  Of  that  I  have  no  doubt.  But  that  is  no 
excuse  for  American  crime.  A  greater  good  lay 
within  our  grasp,  and  we  spurned  it  away. 

Well,  before  long  the  soldiers  will  come  back — 
such  as  shall  ever  come  —  the  regulars  and  volun 
teers,  the  husbands  of  the  women  whom  your 


46 


charity  fed  last  winter,  housed  and  clad  and 
warmed.  They  will  come  back.  Come,  New 
England,  with  your  posterity  of  states,  go  forth 
to  meet  your  sons  returning  all  "covered  with  im 
perishable  honors."  Come,  men,  to  meet  your  fa 
thers,  brothers.  Come,  women,  to  your  husbands 
and  your  lovers;  come.  But  what!  is  that  the 
body  of  men  who  a  year  or  two  ago  went  forth,  so 
full  of  valor  and  of  rum  ?  Are  these  rags  the  imper 
ishable  honors  that  cover  them  ?  Here  is  not  half 
the  whole.  Where  is  the  wealth  they  hoped  from 
the  spoil  of  churches  ?  But  the  men  —  "  Where  is 
my  husband  ?  "  says  one ;  "  and  my  son  ?  "  says 
another.  "  They  fell  at  Jalapa,  one,  and  one  at 
Cerro  Gordo,  but  they  fell  covered  with  imperisha 
ble  honor,  for  'twas  a  famous  victory."  "  Where  is 
my  lover  ? "  screams  a  woman  whom  anguish 
makes  respectable  spite  of  her  filth  and  ignorance; 
—  "  and  our  father,  where  is  he  ?  "  scream  a  troop 
of  half-starved  children,  staring  through  their  dirt 
and  rags.  "  One  died  of  the  vomit  at  Vera  Cruz. 
Your  father,  little  ones,  we  scourged  the  naked 
man  to  death  at  Mixcoac." 

But  that  troop  that  is  left  —  who  are  in  the 
arms  of  wife  and  child  —  they  are  the  best  ser 
mon  against  war ;  this  has  lost  an  arm  and  that 
a  leg;  half  are  maimed  in  battle,  or  sickened 
with  the  fever;  all  polluted  with  the  drunkenness, 
idleness,  debauchery,  lust,  and  murder  of  a  camp. 
Strip  off  this  man's  coat,  and  count  the  stripes  welt 
ed  into  his  flesh  —  stripes  laid  on  by  demagogues 
that  love  the  people,  the  DEAR  people.  See  how 
affectionately  the  war-makers  branded  the  dear  sol 
diers  with  a  letter  D,  with  a  red  hot  iron,  in  the 


47 


cheek.  The  flesh  will  quiver  as  the  irons  burn  — 
no  matter.  It  is  only  for  love  of  the  people  that 
all  this  is  done,  and  we  are  all  of  us  covered  with 
imperishable  honors.  D  stands  for  Deserter,  —  aye, 
and  for  Demagogue  —  yes,  and  for  Demon  too. 
Many  a  man  shall  come  home  with  but  half  of 
himself —  half  his  body,  less  than  half  his  soul. 

"  Alas  the  mother,  that  him  bare, 
If  she  could  stand  in  presence  there, 
In  that  wan  cheek  and  wasted  air, 
She  would  not  know  her  child." 

"  Better,"  you  say,  "  for  us  better,  and  for  them 
selves  better  by  far,  if  they  had  left  that  remnant 
of  a  body  in  the  common  ditch  where  the  soldier 
finds  his  bed  of  honor,  —  better  have  fed  therewith 
the  vultures  of  a  foreign  soil,  than  thus  come  back." 
No,  better  come  back,  and  live  here,  mutilated, 
scourged,  branded,  a  cripple,  a  pauper,  a  drunkard, 
and  a  felon,  —  better  darken  the  windows  of  the 
jail  and  blot  the  gallows  with  unusual  shame  —  to 
teach  us  all  that  such  is  war,  and  such  the  results 
of  every  "  famous  victory,"  such  the  imperishable 
honors  that  it  brings,  and  how  the  war-makers  love 
the  men  they  rule !  Oh  Christian  America !  Oh 
New  England,  child  of  the  Puritans !  Cradled  in 
the  wilderness,  thy  swaddling  garments  stained 
with  martyrs'  blood,  hearing  in  thy  youth  the  war- 
whoop  of  the  savage  and  thy  mother's  sweet  and 
soul-composing  hymn :  - 

"  Hush,  my  child,  lie  still  and  slumber, 

Holy  angels  guard  thy  bed  ; 
Heavenly  blessings,  without  number, 

Rest  upon  thine  infant  head : " 


48 


Come,  New  England,  take  the  old  banners  of 
thy  conquering  host — the  standards  borne  at  Mon 
terey,  Palo  Alto,  Buena  Vista,  Vera  Cruz,  the  "  glo 
rious  stripes  and  stars  "  that  waved  over  the  walls 
of  Churubusco,  Contreras,  Puebla,  Mexico  herself, 
-  flags  blackened  with  battle  and  stiffened  with 
blood,  pierced  by  the  lances  and  torn  with  the  shot 
—  bring  them  into  thy  churches,  hang  them  up 
over  altar  and  pulpit,  and  let  little  children,  clad  in 
white  raiment  and  crowned  with  flowers,  come 
and  chant  their  lessons  for  the  day : 

"  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart,  for  they  shall  see 
God. 

"  Blessed  are  the  peacemakers,  for  they  shall  be 
called  the  children  of  God." 

Then  let  the  Priest  say  —  "  Righteousness  ex- 
alteth  a  nation,  but  sin  is  a  reproach  unto  any 
people.  Blessed  is  the  Lord  my  strength.  Which 
teacheth  my  hands  to  war,  and  my  fingers  to  fight. 
Happy  is  that  people  that  is  in  such  a  case.  Yea, 
happy  is  that  people  whose  God  is  the  Lord,  and 
Jesus  Christ  their  Saviour." 

Then  let  the  soldiers  who  lost  their  limbs  and 
the  women  who  lost  their  husbands  and  their  lov 
ers  in  the  strife,  and  the  men  —  wiser  than  the 
children  of  light  —  who  made  money  out  of  the 
war ;  let  all  the  people  —  like  people  and  like 
priest  — say  "AMEN." 

But  suppose  these  men  were  to  come  back  to 
Boston  on  a  day  when,  in  civil  style,  as  having 
never  sinned  yourself,  and  never  left  a  man  in  ig 
norance  and  want  to  be  goaded  into  crime,  you 


49 


were  about  to  hang  three  men  —  one  for  murder, 
one  for  robbery  with  the  armed  hand,  and  one  for 
burning  down  a  house.  Suppose,  after  the  fash 
ion  of  "the  good  old  times,"  you  were  to  hang 
those  men  in  public,  and  lead  them  in  long  proces 
sion  through  your  streets,  and  while  you  were  wel 
coming  these  returned  soldiers  and  taking  their 
officers  to  feast  in  "  the  Cradle  of  Liberty,"  they 
should  meet  the  sheriff's  procession  escorting  those 
culprits  to  the  gallows.  Suppose  the  warriors 
should  ask,  "  Why,  what  is  that  ?"  What  would 
you  say  ?  Why,  this.  "  These  men  —  they  broke 
the  law  of  God,  by  violence,  by  fire  and  blood,  and 
we  shall  hang  them  for  the  public 'good,  and  espe 
cially  for  the  example,  to  teach  the  ignorant,  the 
low,  and  the  weak."  Suppose  these  three  felons — 
the  halters  round  their  neck  —  should  ask  also, 
"Why,  what  is  that?"  You  would  say,  "They 
are  the  soldiers  just  come  back  from  war.  For  two 
long  years  they  have  been  hard  at  work,  burning 
cities,  plundering  a  nation,  and  butchering  whole 
armies  of  men.  Sometimes  they  killed  a  thousand 
in  a  day.  By  their  help,  the  nation  has  stolen 
seven  hundred  thousand  square  miles  of  land!" 
Suppose  the  culprits  ask,  "  Where  will  you  hang 
so  many?"  "Hang  them!"  is  the  answer  —  we 
shall  only  hang  you.  It  is  written  in  OUR  Bible 
that  one  murder  makes  a  villain,  millions  a  hero. 
We  shall  feast  these  men  full  of  bread  and  wine  ; 
shall  take  their  leader,  a  ro*gh  man  arid  a  ready  - 
one  who  by  perpetual  robbery  holds  a  hundred 
slaves  and  more  —  and  make  him  a  King  over  all 
the  land.  But  as  you  only  burnt,  robbed,  and 


50 


murdered  on  so  small  scale,  and  without  the  com 
mand  of  the  President  or  the  Congress,  we  shall 
hang  you  by  the  neck.  Our  Governor  ordered 
these  men  to  go  and  burn  and  rob  and  kill,  now 
he  orders  you  to  be  hanged,  and  you  must  not  ask 
any  more  questions,  for  the  hour  is  already  come." 
To  make  the  whole  more  perfect  —  suppose  a 
native  of  Loo-Choo,  converted  to  Christianity  by 
your  missionaries  in  his  native  land,  had  come 
hither  to  have  "  the  way  of  God  "  "  expounded  un 
to  him  more  perfectly,"  that  he  might  SEE  how 
these  Christians  love  one  another.  Suppose  he 
should  be  witness  to  a  scene  like  this ! 

To  men  who  know  the  facts  of  war,  the  wick 
edness  of  this  particular  invasion  and  its  wide-ex 
tending  consequences,  I  fear  that  my  words  will 
seem  poor  and  cold  and  tame.  I  have  purposely 
mastered  my  emotion,  telling  only  my  thought. 
I  have  uttered  no  denunciation  against  the  men 
who  caused  this  desl  ruction  of  treasure,  this  mas 
sacre  of  men,  this  awful  degradation  of  the  moral 
sense.  The  respectable  men  of  Boston  —  "the 
men  of  property  and  standing  "  all  over  the  State, 
the  men  that  commonly  control  the  politics  of  New 
England  —  tell  you  that  they  dislike  the  war.  But 
they  re-elect  the  men  that  made  it.  Has  a  single 
man  in  all  New  England  lost  his  seat  in  any  office 
because  he  favored  the  war  ?  Not  a  man.  Have 
you  ever  known  a  Northern  Merchant  who  would 
not  let  his  ship  for  the  war,  because  the  war  was 
wicked  and  he  a  Christian?  Have  you  ever 
known  a  Northern  Manufacturer  who  would  not 
sell  a  kernel  of  powder,  nor  a  cannon-ball,  nor  a 


51 


coat,  nor  a  shirt  for  the  war?  Have  you  ever 
known  a  Capitalist  —  a  man  who  lives  by  letting 
money  —  refuse  to  lend  money  for  the  war  because 
the  war  was  wicked?  Not  a  Merchant,  not  a 
Manufacturer,  not  a  Capitalist.  A  little  money  - 
it  can  buy  up  whole  hosts  of  men.  Virginia  sells 
her  negroes,  —  what  does  New  England  sell  ? 
There  was  once  a  man  in  Boston,  a  rich  man  too, 
not  a  very  great  man  —  only  a  good  one  who  loved 
his  country  —  and  there  was  another  poor  man 
here,  in  the  times  that  tried  men's  souls,  —  but 
there  was  not  money  enough  in  all  England,  not 
enough  promise  of  honors,  to  make  Hancock  and 
Adams  false  to  their  sense  of  right.  Is  our  soil  de 
generate,  and  have  we  lost  the  race  of  noble  men  ? 
No,  I  have  riot  denounced  the  men  who  directly 
made  the  war,  or  indirectly  egged  the  people  on. 
Pardon  me,  thou  prostrate  Mexico,  robbed  of  more 
than  half  thy  soil,  that  America  may  have  more 
slaves ;  thy  cities  burned,  thy  children  slain,  the 
streets  of  thy  capital  trodden  by  the  alien  foot,  but 
still  smoking  with  thy  children's  blood,  —  pardon 
me  if  I  seem  to  have  forgotten  thee.  And  you,  ye 
butchered  Americans,  slain  by  the  vomito,  the  gal 
lows,  and  the  sword ;  you,  ye  maimed  and  muti 
lated  men,  who  shall  never  again  join  hands  in 
prayer,  never  kneel  to  God  once  more  upon  the 
limbs  he  made  you;  you,  ye  widows,  orphans  of 
these  butchered  men  —  far  off  in  that  more  sunny 
south,  here  in  our  own  fair  land  —  pardon  me  that 
I  seem  to  forget  your  wrongs.  And  thou,  my 
country,  my  own,  my  loved,  my  native  land,  thou 
child  of  Great  Ideas  and  mother  of  many  a  noble 
son  —  dishonored  now,  thy  treasure  wasted,  thy 


children  killed  or  else  made  murderers,  thy  peace 
ful  glory  gone,  thy  government  made  to  pimp  and 
pander  for  lust  of  crime,  —  forgive  me  that  I  seem, 
over  gentle  to  the  men  who  did  and  do  the  damn 
ing  deed  that  wastes  thy  treasure,  spills  thy  blood, 
and  stains  thine  honor's  sacred  fold.  And  you,  ye 
sons  of  men  everywhere,  thou  child  of  God,  man 
kind,  whose  latest,  fairest  hope  is  planted  here  in 
this  new  world,  —  forgive  me  if  I  seem  gentle  to 
thy  enemies,  and  to  forget  the  crime  that  so  dis 
honors  man,  and  makes  this  ground  a  slaughter- 
yard  of  men  —  slain,  too,  in  furtherance  of  the  bas 
est  wish.  I  have  no  words  to  tell  the  pity  that  I 
feel  for  them  that  did  the  deed.  I  only  say,  "  Fa 
ther,  forgive  them,  for  they  know  not  what 
they  do ! " 

A  sectarian  church  could  censure  a  general  for 
holding  his  candle  in  a  Catholic  cathedral  —  'twas 
"  a  candle  to  the  Pope  "  -  yet  never  dared  to  blame 
the  war ;  while  we  loaded  a  ship-of-war  with  corn 
and  sent  off  the  Macedonian  to  Cork,  freighted  by 
private  bounty  to  feed  the  starving  Irishman,  the 
State  sent  her  ships  to  Vera  Cruz,  in  a  cause  most 
unholy,  to  bombard,  to  smite,  and  to  kill.  Father ! 
forgive  the  State,  forgive  the  Church.  'Twas  an 
ignorant  State,  'twas  a  silent  Church  —  a  poor, 
dumb  dog,  that  dared  not  bark  at  the  wolf  who 
prowls  about  the  fold,  but  only  at  the  lamb. 

Yet  ye  leaders  of  the  land,  know  this, — that 
the  blood  of  thirty  thousand  men  cries  out  of  the 
ground  against  you.  Be  it  your  folly  or  your 
crime,  still  cries  the  voice  —  WHERE  is  THY  BROTH 
ER  ?  That  thirty  thousand  —  in  the  name  of  Hu- 


53 


manity  I  ask,  where  are  they  ?     In  the  name  of 
Justice  I  answer,  You  SLEW  THEM. 

'Twas  not  the  people  who  made  this  war.  They 
have  often  enough  done  a  foolish  thing.  But  it 
was  not  they  who  did  this  wrong.  'Twas  they 
that  led  the  people  :  it  was  DEMAGOGUES  that  did  it. 
Whig  demagogues  and  demagogues  of  the  Demo 
crats,  —  men  that  flatter  the  ignorance,  the  folly,  or 
the  sin  of  the  people,  that  they  might  satisfy  their 
own  base  purposes.  In  May,  1846,  if  the  facts  of 
the  case  could  have  been  stated  to  the  voters,  and 
the  question  put  to  the  whole  mass  of  the  people, 
"  Shall  we  go  down  and  fight  Mexico,  spending 
200,000,000  of  dollars,  maiming  four  and  twenty 
thousand  men,  and  butchering  thirty  thousand  — 
shall  we  rob  her  of  half  her  territory?  "  —  the  low 
est  and  most  miserable  part  of  the  nation  would 
have  said,  "Yes;"  the  demagogues  of  the  nation 
would  have  said  as  they  did  say,  "Yes;"  perhaps  a 
majority  of  the  men  of  the  South  would  have  said 
so,  for  the  humanity  of  the  nation  lies  not  there ; 
but  if  it  had  been  brought  to  the  great  mass  of  the 
people  at  the  North,  —  whose  industry  and  skill  so 
increase  the  national  wealth,  whose  intelligence 
and  morals  have  given  the  nation  its  character 
abroad,  —  then  they,  the  great  majority  of  the  land, 
would  have  said  "NO.  We  will  have  no  war.  If 
we  want  more  land,  we  will  buy  it  in  the  open 
market,  and  pay  for  it  honestly.  But  we  are  not 
thieves,  nor  murderers,  thank  God,  and  will  not 
hutcher  a  nation  to  make  a  slave-field  out  of  her 
soil."  The  people  would  not  have  made  this  war. 

Well  —  we  have  got  a  new  territory,  enough  to 


54 


make  one  hundred  states  of  the  size  of.  Massachu 
setts.  That  is  not  all.  We  have  beaten  the  armies 
of  Mexico,  destroyed  the  little  strength  she  had 
left,  the  little  self-respect  —  else  she  would  not  so 
have  yielded  and  given  up  half  her  soil  for  a  few 
miserable  dollars.  Soon  we  shall  take  the  rest  of 
her  possessions.  How  can  Mexico  hold  them  now 

—  weakened,  humiliated,  divided  worse  than  ever 
within   herself.      Before   many  years,   all  of  this 
northern  continent  will  doubtless  be  in  the  hands 
of  the  Anglo  Saxon  race.     That  of  itself  is  not  a 
thing  to  mourn  at.     Could  we  have  extended  our 
empire  there  by  trade,  by  the   Christian  arts  of 
peace,  it  would  be  a  blessing  to  us  and  to  Mexico 

—  a  blessing  to  the  world.     But  we  have  done  it 
in  the  worst  way  —  by  fraud  and  blood ;  for  the 
worst  purpose  —  to  steal  soil  and  convert  the  cities 
of  men  into  the  shambles  for  human  flesh  ;  have 
done  it  at  the  bidding  of  men  whose  counsels  long 
have  been  a  scourge  and  curse  —  at  the  bidding  of 
slaveholders.     They  it  is  that  rule  the  land,  fill  the 
offices,  buy  up  the  North  with  the  crumbs  that  fall 
from  their  political  table,  make  the  laws,  declare 
hostilities,   and  leave  the  North  to  pay  the  bill. 
Shall  we  ever  waken  out  of  our  sleep ;  shall  we 
ever  remember  the  duties  we  owe  to  the  world 
and  to  God,  who  put  us  here  on  this  new  conti 
nent  ?     Let  us  not  despair. 

Soon  we  shall  have  all  the  southern  part  of  the 
continent,  perhaps  half  the  islands  of  the  Gulf. 
One  thing  remains  to  do  —  that  is,  with  the  new 
soil  we  have  taken  to  extend  order,  peace,  educa 
tion,  religion ;  to  keep  it  from  the  blight,  the  crime, 
and  the  sin  of  Slavery.  That  is  for  the  nation  to 


55 


do ;  for  the  North  to  do.  God  knows  the  South 
will  never  do  it.  Is  there  manliness  enough  left 
in  the  North  to  do  that  ?  Has  the  soil  forgot  its 
wonted  faith,  and  borne  a  different  race  of  men 
from  those  who  struggled  eight  long  years  for  free 
dom  ?  Do  we  forget  our  sires,  forget  our  God  ? 
In  the  day  when  the  monarchs  of  Europe  are  sha 
ken  from  their  thrones ;  when  the  Russian  and 
the  Turk  abolish  slavery;  when  cowardly  Naples 
awakes  from  her  centuries  of  sleep,  and  will  have 
freedom  ;  when  France  prays  to  become  a  Repub 
lic,  and  in  her  agony  sweats  great  drops  of  blood  ; 
while  the  Tories  of  the  world  look  on  and  mock 
and  wag  their  heads;  and  while  the  Angel  of 
Hope  descends  with  trusting  words  to  comfort  her, 
—  shall  America  extend  slavery?  butcher  a  na 
tion  to  get  soil  to  make  a  field  for  slaves?  I  know 
how  easily  the  South  can  buy  office-hunters;  — 
Whig  or  Democrat,  the  price  is  still  the  same.  The 
same  golden  eagle  blinds  the  eyes  of  each.  But 
can  she  buy  the  PEOPLE  of  the  North  ?  Is  honesty 
gone,  and  honor  gone,  your  love  of  country  gone, 
Religion  gone,  and  nothing  manly  left ;  not  even 
shame  ?  Then  let  us  perish ;  let  the  Union  perish ! 
No,  let  that  stand  firm,  and  let  the  Northern  men 
themselves  be  slaves ;  and  let  us  go  to  our  masters 
and  say,  "  You  are  very  few,  and  we  are  very  ma 
ny  ;  we  have  the  wealth,  the  numbers,  the  intelli 
gence,  the  Religion  of  the  land  ;  but  you  have  the 
power,  do  not  be  hard  upon  us ;  pray  give  us  a 
little  something,  some  humble  offices,  or  if  not 
these  at  least  a  tariff,  and  we  will  be  content." 

Slavery  has  already  been  the  blight  of  this  na 
tion,  the  curse  of  the  North  and  the  curse  of  the 


56 


South.  It  has  hindered  commerce,  manufactures, 
agriculture.  It  confounds  your  Politics.  It  has 
silenced  your  ablest  men.  •  It  has  muzzled  the 
Pulpit,  and  stifled  the  better  life  out  of  the  Press. 
It  has  robbed  three  million  men  of  what  is  dearer 
than  life ;  it  has  kept  back  the  welfare  of  seven 
teen  millions  more.  You  ask,  oh  Americans, 
where  is  the  harmony  of  the  Union  ?  It  was  bro 
ken  by  Slavery.  Where  is  the  treasure  we  have 
wasted  ?  It  was  squandered  by  Slavery.  Where 
are  the  men  we  sent  to  Mexico  ?  They  were  mur 
dered  by  Slavery ;  and  now  the  Slave  Power  comes 
forward  to  put  her  new  minions,  her  thirteenth 
president,  upon  the  nation's  neck !  Will  the  North 
say  "Yes"? 

But  there  is  a  Providence  which  rules  the  world, 

—  a  plan  in  His  affairs.     Shall  all  this  war,  this  ag 
gression  of  the  Slave  Power  be  for  nothing  ?  Surely 
not     Let  it  teach  us  two  things :  Everlasting  Hos 
tility  to  Slavery,  Everlasting  Love  of  Justice  and  of 
its  Eternal  Right.     Then,  dear  as  we  may  pay  for 
it,  it  may  be  worth  what  it  has  cost  —  the  money 
and  the  men.     I  call  on  you,  ye  men  —  fathers, 
brothers,   husbands,    sons  —  to   learn  this   lesson, 
and,  when  duty  calls,  to  show  that  you  know  it  — 
know  it  by  heart  and  at  your  fingers'  ends.     And 
you,  ye  women— mothers,  sisters,  daughters,  wives 

—  I  call  on  you  to  teach  this  lesson  to  your  chil 
dren,  and  let  them  know  that  such  a  War  is  sin, 
and  Slavery  sin,  and,  while  you  teach  them  to 
hate  both,  teach  them  to  be  men,  and  do  the  duties 
of  noble,  Christian,  and  manly  men.     Behind  in 
justice  there  is  RUIN,  and  above  man  there  is  the 
EVERLASTING  GOD. 


